Cottage School commended for eco-friendly Christmas project

‘I didn’t know how much Christmas waste there was before we did the project,’ said Lily.

Sophie said, ‘I knew about it, I just didn’t think about it.’

With the help of teacher Lee Cody, the children brainstormed all the different waste streams, looking at what happened in their own households, and what they imagined other households might do.

‘We had a really mature conversation,’ said Lee. ‘It made them think about different family traditions and habits.’

As part of the project, the children made posters and tried to come up with practical, achievable solutions to some of the staggering statistics.

‘Every year, people get presents that they don’t want or need,’ said Sophie. ‘It’s estimated that nine hundred million dollars worth of presents goes to waste every Christmas.’

‘We should think carefully about what we buy,’ said Jesse, ‘and get something that the person will actually like.’

‘And if someone gives you a toy that you don’t like,’ added Lily, ‘don’t throw it away. Give it to a toy drive, regift it, or use it for crafting.’

Another statistic that Lee brought to the project was that, worldwide, there is enough wrapping paper thrown out each Christmas to go around the equator four times.

Rocco and James suggested saving wrapping paper to reuse next year. Other possibilities were wrapping gifts in fabric or teatowels, or in paper bags decorated with children’s artwork.

Several kids identified batteries as contributing to waste, as they run out so quickly and have to be thrown away. Oliver, Lily and Sophie all suggested that people only buy toys with rechargeable batteries. ‘They cost more at first,’ said Lily, ‘but they’re less expensive in the long run.’

Another issue was items that are used once then thrown away, such as paper plates and Christmas trees. ‘Why buy paper plates when you have nice china plates?’ asked James. Katie suggested that instead of buying a new Christmas tree every year, families could get one that they would love and use for years to come.

The Cottage School kids are keen composters, so their final recommendation was to avoid food waste. ‘They all agreed that food left over from Christmas dinner should be put into the compost,’ said Lee, ‘or given to the chickens or the dog, instead of going to landfill.’

Clarence Climate Action is delighted to choose Lee Cody and the Year 5/6 students at the Cottage School for this month’s Climate Champions.

Eastern Shore Sun, December 2024, page 11