In this lesson, students expand their understanding of solid waste management to include the idea of 3RC (reduce, reuse, recycle and compost). They will look at the effects of packaging decisions (reducing) and learn about engineering advancements in packaging materials and solid waste management. Also, they will observe biodegradation in a model landfill (composting).

This curriculum builds upon many years of educating students in the garden and scales up content across grades and lessons for instructional scaffolding. It is designed as an interactive teaching tool to be co-taught with classroom teachers and garden instructors as leads. Each lesson connects directly to standards: Next Generation Science, Common Core State, Physical Education, and Environmental and Health Education. The concise and easy to-follow lessons are a packed 45 minutes for preschool through fifth grade. Flexibility is important, so some lessons include several activities that teachers can choose from to accommodate their lesson plans. Consistency is also important, so lessons follow themes and structures found in the Curriculum Map. 360 pages.

By studying key processes in the carbon cycle, such as photosynthesis, composting and anaerobic digestion, students learn how nature and engineers "biorecycle" carbon. Students are exposed to examples of how microbes play many roles in various systems to recycle organic materials and also learn how the carbon cycle can be used to make or release energy.

This is a basic guide to starting a compost system at an elementary school. It includes steps for building a compost bin and an instructional booklet in English, Spanish, and Braille.

Students bury various pieces of trash in a plotted area of land outside. After two to three months, they uncover the trash to investigate what types of materials biodegrade in soil.

In a multi-week experiment, students monitor the core temperatures of two compost piles, one control and one tended, to see how air and water affect microbial activity. They daily aerate and wet the "treated" pile and collect 4-6 weeks' worth of daily temperature readings. Once the experiment is concluded, students plot and analyze their data to compare the behavior of the two piles. They find that the treated pile becomes hotter, an indication that more microbes are active and releasing heat. Through this activity, students see that microbes play a role in composting and how composting can be used as a carbon management process.

Students explore the concept of biodegradability by building and observing model landfills to test the decomposition of samples of everyday garbage items. They collect and record experiment observations over five days, seeing for themselves what happens to trash when it is thrown "away" in a landfill environment. This shows them the difference between biodegradable and non-biodegradable and serves to introduce them to the idea of composting. Students also learn about the role of engineering in solid waste management.

Students create a concept design of their very own net-zero energy classroom by pasting renewable energy and energy-efficiency items into and around a pretend classroom on a sheet of paper. They learn how these items (such as solar panels, efficient lights, computers, energy meters, etc.) interact to create a learning environment that produces as much energy as it uses.

Student teams find solutions to hypothetical challenge scenarios that require them to sustainably manage both resources and wastes. They begin by creating a card representing themselves and the resources (inputs) they need and wastes (outputs) they produce. Then they incorporate additional cards for food and energy components and associated necessary resources and waste products. They draw connections between outputs that provide inputs for other needs, and explore the problem of using linear solutions in resource-limited environments. Then students incorporate cards based on biorecycling technologies, such as algae photobioreactors and anaerobic digesters in order to make circular connections. Finally, the student teams present their complete biorecycling engineering solutions to their scenarios in poster format by connecting outputs to inputs, and showing the cycles of how wastes become resources.

This resource is a video abstract of a research paper created by Research Square on behalf of its authors. It provides a synopsis that's easy to understand, and can be used to introduce the topics it covers to students, researchers, and the general public. The video's transcript is also provided in full, with a portion provided below for preview:

"Antibiotic resistance is increasingly prevalent, with costs to the economy and to human health. Globally, antibiotic usage in livestock is expected to increase by 66% by 2030, and antibiotics used in animals are clinically relevant to humans. Better understanding the effects of different antibiotics and manure management practices will help to decrease the potential for antibiotic resistance. In a recent study, researchers examined the effects of different manure composting techniques in dairy and beef cattle treated with different antibiotic regimens. They found that the total antibiotic resistance gene (ARG) expression, or “resistome,” changed with the progression of composting with time. The relative abundance of ARGs decreased over time in all conditions, except when the compost was externally heated, but in contrast to the overall trend, some ARGs, including Sul1, intI1, beta lactam, and plasmid-associated genes, increased in all finished composts..."

The rest of the transcript, along with a link to the research itself, is available on the resource itself.

Objectives
*Present to students alternative uses for older fruits and vegetables that have gone unused
*Teach students how vegetable scraps can be used for other purposes

Objectives
*Teach students about how long their fruits and vegetables last for safe consumption
*Allow students to practice asking scientific questions - forming questions and hypotheses

In this 6th grade Science class, students learn how to build a compost pile, learn about organisms needed for decomposition, and begin to understand the purpose of compost in the garden.

In this 6th grade Science class, students learn how to build a compost pile, learn about organisms needed for decomposition, and begin to understand the purpose of compost in the garden.

Just like manure, compost can improve your garden soil and make your vegetables or flowers grow stronger and healthier. Here’s how you and your family can make some compost.

Our planet is precious. Connecting to our world and becoming aware of our surroundings and ways we can keep Earth beautiful can be empowering to students and adults alike! Our goal with this project is to encourage and empower students to reduce waste in our classrooms, our school, our community and beyond!

This lesson plan explains how seeds can be dispersed, describes seed adaptations to ensure dispersal and explain the importance of this process.

The objective of this lesson is to teach kids about food advertising. To compare and contrast the portrayal of real food versus processed food in the media.

The purpose of this lesson plan is to learn about the process and importance of decomposition while creating actual compost.

 Le compostage, processus contrôlé de décomposition de matière organique par des micro-organismes en présence d'oxygène, produit un humus stable. Ce rappel de cours offre une synthèse des points clés du processus de  compostage, facilitant la compréhension  pour les étudiants.