Eco-Activities

Eco-Activities are activities that promote environmental sustainability and conservation. These activities can include recycling, composting, reducing energy consumption, using sustainable transportation, conserving water and much, much more. Eco-Activities are important because they help to reduce the impact of human activities on the environment and preserve our natural resources for future generations to have the same opportunities we have! 

By participating in Eco-Activities, we can make a positive difference in our communities and contribute to the global effort to reduce the effects of climate change. Small actions taken by individuals can add up to make a larger impact. By promoting Eco-Activities we can help raise awareness and encourage others to take action.

When students organise their own initiatives and take part in Eco-Activities they can develop crucial skills for becoming environmental stewards, such as leadership, teamwork and critical thinking. All the while developing habits that promote sustainability for the rest of their lives.

EcoMarines have collated a few competitions and activities that result in positive behavioural change. These activities have been completed by EcoMarines ambassadors in schools and can be flexible to your school community. If you come up with a new activity, let our team know and we can help provide any resources or assistance!

Activities & Competitions

Although it is important to grow plants for a sustainable environment, you can also grow plants to help with a sustainable mind.

There are many benefits of gardening or even spending time in a garden for your mental health: 

  • spending time in a green environment has been shown to improve self esteem and mood

  • gardening allows us to switch off from the virtual and physical world 

  • gardening nurtures and promotes creativity 

This challenge invites EcoMarines to create a garden space for students to visit to feel calm, switch-off, and connect themselves with nature. 

Step 1

Discuss creating a mindfulness garden with your EcoMarines crew. Here are some important things to consider: 

  • Is there an available space to have the garden? Perhaps a garden space already exists and you can add an area within the space for students to be mindful.

  • What physical items are important to have in this space e.g. a bench/seat, signage, plants, flowers etc. 

  • What activities/materials can you have in the garden e.g. a yoga mat, reading materials etc. 

  • Who do you need to talk with to get the appropriate permission e.g. P&C committee, principal, grounds keepers

Step 2

Build your mindfulness garden or space! You may need to think about funding if you need to purchase extra materials. A good idea is to organise a fundraiser or recycle drink containers with the Containers for Change refund scheme. You could even apply for free native plants if your school is within the Brisbane City Council area. 

Here are some helpful resources to assist your crew with planning and building your garden space: 

Step 3

Promote your mindfulness garden in on assembly. You can create a presentation and use photos taken of the garden and building process. Make sure to include these points: 

  1. The benefits of garden spaces for mental health 

  2. Where the garden is 

  3. Rules of the garden e.g. it is a quiet space

  4. When students can use the garden 

Step 4

Let us know how your garden turned out! We would love to see some photos or even a copy of the assembly presentation. You may have the chance to talk about your schools’ mindfulness garden at our end of year event The Wave! Use the form below!

Have you taken notice of any cute animals that regularly visit you school’s garden, such as frogs, butterflies or birds? What could you do to improve the garden to attract more of these animals?

You can start by creating fun, accessible habitats using recycled materials that you would otherwise dispose of. Submit photos of your awesome creations and informative posters for your chance to win a Bunnings prize pack to support you in future gardening projects.  

Good luck with your Happy Habitats! You can even pair this challenge with the Mindfulness Garden!

Step 1: Investigate your garden's ecosystem

Before getting started you’ll have to gain a better understanding of the ecosystem you’re dealing with so that you can choose the most suitable habitat to construct in that environment. Here are some questions you should consider when investigating your garden: 

  • What animals do I already see on a regular basis?
  • What animals would I like to attract to the garden that may benefit the rest of the ecosystem? e.g. pollinators that may help spread pollen from native flowers. 
  • How can I compliment the garden with the habitat I create? e.g. creating a frog habitat nearby a pond.  

 

Step 2: Choose the animal

As a team decide on which animal you would like to create a habitat for. Or feel free to decide on a few! We have provided some examples below but feel free to research other potential DIY animal habitats that you could construct e.g. bird habitat, lizard habitats etc. 

Think about the recycled materials you could use to create these habitats e.g. using offcuts of pipes for a frog habitat. 

 

Step 3: Start building!

With the guidance and/or permission of your teacher you can start building the habitat of your choice. Here are some questions you should consider whilst constructing: 

  • Where in the garden will this be positioned?
  • Based on where you plan to locate the structure, will the habitat be accessible to the animal? 
  • Will the habitat compliment surrounding features of the garden? e.g. a bird feeder would go great under a tree where a bird might land on.

 

Frog Hotel created by the 2022 EcoMarines of Oakleigh SS

Step 4: Send us Pictures!

Take photos of your beautiful creations along and submit it to us below or send us an email via the button. The EcoMarines team will choose a few entries to win a Bunnings prize pack !

The top priority for EcoMarines Ambassadors is to reduce the amount of waste and litter found in your school and community. Well, our friends at Cleanaway are here to help!

We want you to make a creative art piece out of the most common waste items found in your school to raise awareness about these problematic items and give alternative options so people can eliminate them. 

The school with the best recycled art piece and story will be announced at ‘The Wave’ and receive a school visit from Cleanaway’s Waste Education Officer!

Step 1

Ambassadors complete an audit to identify the key litter items found in your school, or waste items from the tuck shop or lunch boxes *organic waste is excluded*.  

Step 2

Pick the top 3 items you want to focus on and start collecting them around the school. Brainstorm ideas how you can make an art piece out of these items collected to raise awareness in your school community. 

Step 3

It’s time to get creative! You can make anything you want with the materials collected (see photos on this page for ideas).

Step 4

Email Dini 2-3 photos of your art piece and a brief write-up about your creation and how/why you came up with it. Submissions are due Friday 8th October (Week 1, Term 4).

The school with the winning design/story will be announced at The Wave and have their photo published on Cleanaway’s social media account.  They will also win an interactive recycling presentation from a Cleanaway Education Officer and a prize pack to share with students! 

Step 5

Ambassadors present at assembly:

  • Show your art piece and explain why you made it and what products were used.

  • Make suggestions for people to avoid or eliminate using these products. For example, if you found lots of mini chip packets you could suggest families buy one big bag and just fill a reusable container with chips for lunch each day.

  • We suggest doing another audit to see if those key waste items have decreased. This will prove if you’ve successfully created behavioural change in your school!


Display your art piece at school and talk to students about these problematic waste items. Maybe include it in your school newsletter and social media as well!

One of the places where there is a lot waste in schools is in students lunch boxes!

From wrappers, to plastic containers, to plastic wrap there are lots of rubbish in lunch boxes that can easily be swapped out for more eco-friendly options. To reduce waste in lunchboxes, you can run a waste-free lunches campaign in your school! 

Step 1

Plan how to integrate wrapper-free lunches in your school! 

Here are some ideas: 

  • Focus on one day a week where you ask students to bring a waste-free lunch. This can be the waste-free lunch day or the nude-food day or event the litter-free lunches day!

  • Focus on one year level for a term

  • Start off with ‘low-waste lunches’ instead of ‘waste-free lunches’ to help students ease into this challenge!

Here are a few things to consider to make your waste-free campaign a success!

Competitions

Make waste-free lunches a competition between classes!

  • Each class can have a sticker chart so each student that brings a waste-free lunch gets a sticker

  • Use a simple survey platform like KwikSurveys to send the class’ waste-free lunch numbers through 

  • Ambassadors can go to each classroom and record how many waste-free lunches each class has

Prizes

For competitions, you can present the winning class with a prize at assembly. Prize ideas include: 

  • Waste-free lunch trophy made out of food packaging 

  • Provide a waste-free morning tea for the winning class

  • A book for the winning class. Here are some eco-book ideas

  • Waste-free mascot! Have a soft-toy or statue that the winning class can keep for the week. How about a waste-free walrus?

Data Collection

Collecting data before your waste-free lunch days and after is a great way to show campaign success: 

  • You could consider tracking plastics, glass, metal and more in each lunch box using our Waste Data Collection Sheet

  • You can also show how many students bought a waste-free lunch for the term and how it increases over-time

  • Visuals are great! Use graph’s and pictures to show your data.

Step 2

Promote and advertise waste-free lunches in your school!  Get creative, check out this video by Bulimba State School, they made up a rap song to promote “Wrapper Free Wednesdays” at their school​

Teach your peers what a waste-free lunch looks like! Make sure you give examples of low-waste options like using reusable containers, beeswax wraps, paper recyclable bags and reusable water bottles. 

Step 3

Get parents on board! Nine times out of ten, students’ parents are the ones who organise school lunches. So it is important to give them all the resources they need to be able to easily make a waste-free lunch!

Check out these tips and lunchbox ideas …..
Tips for Waste-free Lunches
The Wishart 6
Munchbox
Packing a Waste Free Lunch Box
Port of Brisbane is one of Australia’s fastest growing container ports, and Queensland’s largest multi-cargo port.

They are based at the mouth of the Brisbane river overlooking beautiful Moreton Bay (Quandamooka Country).

For this challenge, EcoMarines ambassadors and support crew can visit the Port of Brisbane for the Power of the Port excursion! Learn all about sediment, seagrass, mangroves, shorebirds, energy efficient buildings, operations of the port, and more!

Email us to inquire!

Step 1

Get in touch with our team if you are interested in this amazing excursion! We will organise a date for the excursion with the Port of Brisbane. 

Step 2

Once the date is set, get ready for some fun! Here are the important details:

Transportation: If you live within 1 hour drive from the The Port, they offer a complimentary bus service to pick you up and drop you back to the school! The bus fits 23 people so it is up to teachers to either fill the bus with 23 students or ensure there are empty seats between students to accommodate for COVID-safe practices.

Location: 3 Port Central Avenue, Port of Brisbane 4178

Numbers: Max 23 guests 

Time: Approx 11 – 1.30pm. You can amend excursion times to suit your school schedule.

Students Bring
  • Closed footwear

  • Clipboard and pen/pencil for taking notes

  • Reusable water bottle

  • Hat

  • Sunscreen

  • Packed lunch and snacks

Teachers Bring
  • Things listed to the left

  • Phone or camera to take pictures during the tour to include in your assembly PowerPoint

Port will supply
  • Computer (to make PowerPoint presentation)

Step 3

It’s time to share what you learnt with the rest of your school! After the excursion we encourage you to present the presentation at assembly or film the presentation to share with other students. We also encourage you to do a write up an article for your school newsletter!

Urban Utilites: School Water Conservation Program

Urban Utilities’ School Water Conservation Program is available to schools in the council areas of Brisbane, Ipswich, Lockyer Valley, Scenic Rim and Somerset. This program helps students have greater visibility over their water usage and encourages water efficient behaviours.

Program Overview: 

  • Starting the program will involve representatives from Urban Utilities visiting your school and fitting data loggers to the school’s water meters.
  • The meters will produce real time water consumption data which can then be collected by students. 
  • Students will gain access to the online portal where they can track their school’s water use data.
  • The online portal can identify leaks or any unusual usage.

If your EcoMarines are interested in joining the program please email us and we will get you in contact with Urban Utilities. 

A great way to educate and create awareness about recycling in your school is using the power of drama in the form of a skit! 

So this activity is perfect for EcoMarines who love drama and film AND want to make better decisions for the health of our environment. 

Step 1

Get together with your EcoMarines crew to discuss your skit. A skit is a like a short play or performance that has an important meaning behind it but is often funny and positive. 

Consider the recycling set up at your school and what messages you would like to share. For example: 

  • Using the right recycling bin for the right items

  • Containers for Change 

  • How to recycle certain items e.g. soft plastics, e-waste, mobile phones, batteries 

  • Reducing wrappers, packaging and containers in school

Step 2

After you have decided on your message or theme, you can start thinking of what you want your skit to look like such as a story, a game show or a news interview. Let your imagination run wild! The more creative and funny, the better. 

Step 3

It’s time to get planning!

Make sure you are giving your audience the correct recycling information. A good way to do this is to google council recycling guides depending on what council region your school belongs too.

This is important as some councils do not recycle certain items such as: 

  • Bottle caps

  • Soft plastics

  • Garden waste 

To help you plan your script for the skit, we have a template you can use: 

Step 4

After a little bit of practice, your drama crew will be ready to present your Recycling Rangers skit. Here are some ideas for where and how you can present your skit:

  • Present on assembly

  • Present it to your teachers at a staff meeting

  • Organise to show your skit to younger grades 

Step 5

Enter into our Recycle Right Skit Competition by Friday 8th October (Week 1, Term 4) for a chance to preform your skit at our end of year event The Wave! AND you will also have the opportunity for an EcoMarines film crew to come out to your school and create a video production of your skit! You can submit your script in to us or even a video of one of your presentations. You can submit your script in to us or even a video of one of your presentations. Use the submission form below!

School Spotlights!

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