Grade 8 Environmental
Experience
Reducing our
ecological footprint
www.royalsaskmuseum.ca/gallery/life_sciences/footprint_mx_2005.swf
Woods (Advisor: S. Joseph ~ M339; Project Supervisor: Vince Jansen for Topics 1 & 2 / M. Chidiac for Topic 5)
“People who
eat less meat will have a smaller footprint”.
Questions:
1.
Why
is a vegetarian diet preferred? Isn’t meat good for you?
2.
What
is the difference between a vegan and a vegetarian?
3.
Are
there vegetarian restaurants in Montreal and what do they serve?
4.
What
is the MUCS and what is their “zero food waste” program?
5.
What
does organic food mean?
6.
What,
where, and how does a community garden function?
7.
What
are container gardens?
8.
How
can we avoid food waste?
9. What percentage of products commonly used in
the home is recycled. (estimated as percentage of
biomass).
10.
Determine the amount of recycling within the LCC community. Are we doing
enough?
Activities:
B: Visit a grocery store and compare
the pricing of organic food with their non-organic counterparts. Create a menu
for a multi-course super meal (example: entré, main
dish, salad, desert…beveridge).
NOTE: STUDENTS WILL BE SUPERVISED BY
MR. JANSEN FOR THIS ACTIVITY
“People who
eat a lot of processed and packaged food will have large footprints. The same
goes for foods that are grown using pesticides and synthetic fertilizers and
imported foods”.
Questions:
1.
Why
is it important to buy local?
2.
What
is a food mile?
3.
How
can we reduce packaging waste?
4.
What
are environmental purchasing criteria for packaging?
5.
What
are some important facts on Montreal’s Farmers markets?
6.
Why
shouldn’t we use pesticides and synthetic fertilizers?
7.
What
are alternatives to using pesticides and synthetic fertilizers?
8.
What
are GMO foods and what are some of the benefits & costs to the environment?
9.
What
has happened to cost of foods ever since they have added (Best before” labels
to food items?
10.
Why
is it illegal for farmers to eat their own produce (specifically eggs, poultry
and milk and meats).
11.
Take
a typical foodstuff and draw a pricing cycle for a year based on source and
pricing (eg. Strawberries).
12.
Compare the price of milk at source to the
milk bought in the local store. What is
percentage increase from farmer to shelf.
Activities:
C: Visit popular grocery stores and
see if you can identify products that contain GMOs.
Based upon your internet research, identify those that properly label their
products as containing GMOs versus products that
contain partial GMOs but avoid inidicating
such on their labels.
D: Visit a local grocery store and
identify well known food items or processed food products whose packaging is
excessive or even unsafe or whose ingredients are unhealthy (e.g., cans lined
with plastic coating~Bisphenol ‘A’, foods containing
preservatives, trans fats, etc).
NOTE: STUDENTS WILL BE SUPERVISED BY
MR. JANSEN FOR THIS ACTIVITY
“Composting
and recycling are effective ways to reduce our goods and services footprint”.
Questions:
1.
What
have industries and individuals done to reduce our packaging wastes? Have our
packing wastes actually been reduced?
2.
What
are green cleaning products? What are they being replaced with and are they
free?
3.
Why
are plastic bags so bad?
4.
Why
is the clothing and textile industry considered among the highest pollutants?
5.
What
is eco-fashion?
6.
How
has the music industry influenced environmental concern?
7.
What
are the consequences of pet owners using regular plastic bags to store their
animal’s feces and how is this becoming a major problem for major cities? What
measures are some cities taking to address this problem?
8.
How
is the electronics (batteries, computers, cell phones) industry way behind in
leaving a green footprint?
9.
Can
you calculate the rate of electronic disposable objects among your peer group.
Activities:
A: Canvas bag collection: survey of which businesses make use of canvas
bags and how much they charge.
B: Visit groceries stores and survey the number of people using canvas
bags versus paper versus plastic bags at each.
NOTE: STUDENTS WILL BE SUPERVISED BY
MME. CHIDIAC FOR THIS ACTIVITY WHICH WILL INVOLVE A TRIP TO THE GROCERY STORE