Report 2013

REPORT

Art and Recycling Workshop 6, 7, 9, 11 May 2013 – 

Jo Kaminska Foundation 

with the logistics provided by Adopt Sri Lanka

The teachers from 160 schools from the Galle, Matara and Tangalle and Hambantota Educational Zones participated in the Art and Recycling Workshop organized by Jo Kaminska Foundation with the administrative help of Adopt Sri Lanka.

This project aimed to give the teachers and the students the chance to think about the amount of waste we all produce, how it is disposed, how it can be recycled and most important – how it can be reused. During the workshop the teachers from primary and secondary schools learnt interactive school activities that can be used directly with their students. The activities presented were put in practice with the teachers for them to learn how to use the activities in the classroom.

One of the activities was a story telling activity (an oral art form) with the elements of performing arts. A series of additional follow up activities were also provided.

Another activity was the Ocean, which involves different types of art techniques. Teachers can experiment here with different types of art techniques. The children are divided into groups and together they create a picture of a habitat (a big display adapted to the school facilities). The following day after it was completed the display is filled in with waste (for example different types of plastic waste) to the surprise of the children. The teacher then asks the students questions and all together they think about how it happened and the hazards of the waste in the natural habitat. The class discusses what can be done to avoid such a situation. The children together with the teacher clean up the picture.

The third activity was a role play. It stimulates problem solving abilities, collaboration, presentation of students’ ideas in a coherent way, dialogue techniques.

All of the activities presented stimulate creative thinking, which is extremely important for students to acquire during their school years.

The project have showed the teachers what impact they have on the environment when taking the decisions on what kind of materials to buy and use in real life, how to make the right product and packaging choices in the future in order to protect the environment. The teachers showed a great interest in this area and said that through the activities presented in the workshop they will be able to share this knowledge with their students.

As a follow up activity a Competition - Art and Recycling was set up for all the schools that participated in the workshop. There are two categories for the competition: A. The most innovative use of recycled materials. B. Piece of art made from recycled materials. With the follow up activity the students will get the opportunity to express themselves through their art and foster their creativity as well as become much more aware of plastic pollution and the need for environment protection.

The project will also provide beautiful decorative materials which will make the learning environment friendly and meaningful.

By putting in one working group teachers from different subjects we managed to show how collaboration between different teachers is can contribute to the good of the final message. The teachers collaborated on the language level (for those who did not speak English it was a good opportunity to be exposed to English during the work period).

Methods used

• This project can be done as different types of class activities with sections done in groups or by individual students.
• The next part of the project is run at the same time in different schools - a competition for the Most Innovative Method for Recycled Material and Piece of Art.
• The children should collect plastic, metal and glass containers. During this time students should also talk to their parents to get their views on the topic.
• The teacher and students talk about their findings in class and discuss the types of waste being generated. How is waste disposed of, where does it go and how much is recycled and how?
• The students should discuss how each type of material can be disposed of, whether it is biodegradable or whether it can be recycled and what are its effects on the environment?
• The teachers are advised to use different types of visual materials when talking about the subject of environment, waste and recycling, for example flesh cards, story telling, videos, etc.
• The teachers have at their disposal visual materials presented during the workshop. All of the slides can be downloaded from a facebook group created especially with this purpose – ECO NATIONS.
• A display of the received materials should be made and students should be responsible for making a presentation for the rest of the students in the school.

Things the students could consider

• Why is it important to recycle?
• The effect of waste on the environment, wildlife, etc.
• How can the students and their families make a difference to the quantity of waste they produce? Do they recycle and can they recycle more?
• How often do their parents buy products, which packaging can be recycled?
• What kind of materials should we avoid because they are dangerous for the environment?
• Packaging and carrier bags!
• What are the symbols, markings and information on products to help us to recycle?
• Do their parents seek out products that have been produced from sustainable sources?
• General attitude to litter on the streets.
• How can we influence the negative impact on our environment as a consumer buying goods? Which goods and what kind of packaging should we avoid?
• How does bottled water influence our environment? How harmful is the production/recycling of plastic bottles? Is it necessary to buy bottled water in your country? What are other alternatives?
• Where our clothes, everyday goods come from? Could we improve the positive impact on the environment by buying clothes and everyday utensils such as brooms from coconut fiber instead of plastic, curd in clay pots instead of plastic containers, chairs made of wood with coconut fiber instead of plastic? Are we able to influence and make grow our national economy by doing so?
• Why should we avoid high packaged items? How can we avoid them?
• The effect of burning rubbish.
• Waste generated by industry and retailers such as fast food outlets.
• Waste generated by technology – computers, mobile phones, batteries – what happens to them? Why do they pose hazard on the environment?
• Do the students think it is easier to live an environmentally conscious lifestyle in their country or in their TWINS school’s country?

What will the students learn?

• All about the effects of waste, importance of recycling and its effect on the environment.
• Social skills, critical thinking and decision-making as they work in groups and discuss the topics.
• Creative thinking.
• How to creatively present information.
• How to be creative when dealing with waste.
• New art skills.
• Social responsibility.
• Ecological awareness.

Summary

We believe that the Art and Recycling project is a great way for students to explore the environmental issues of waste and recycling. Using different techniques and methodology we will be able to foster students’ creative thinking and innovation.

The project can be linked to the global dimensions of Sustainability as well as to many other subjects included in the school syllabus. By crossing the fields and connecting them we are able to make the main message even stronger and more significant.

Art and Recycling Workshop has been designed for primary and secondary schools for teachers of Agriculture, Science, Geography and English. The project has been received very warmly by all the teachers from the 4 regions.

Some of the most interesting feedback answers were included in Annex 1.

Annex 1

Feedback questions:

1. Did you find this workshop useful/not useful? Explain.
2. Will you use any of the activities presented during the workshop?
3. What would you improve in the workshop?
4. Please sum up the workshop in once sentence.

The recycling workshop has been very useful because it made us being aware of the problem with plastic.

Recycling workshop is a very important workshop.

I improved my knowledge about the environmental pollution and recycling.

We became to know the reality.

You created a time which was very useful.

The workshop was very useful.

The ideas presented during the workshop are very useful for the students.

We will use computers, arts and visuals to present this topic.

We learnt how to make various beautiful items from recycled materials in a creative way.

Workshop is good but the impact of the problem is beyond our control.

1. Yes, of course. It gives more information about recycling. I think it is an awareness programme. As Sri Lankans we should be much obliged you for your excellent dedication. As a human being you have done an excellent work for the benefit of the whole world.

2. Yes, I hope to use these activities through my teaching career. Because I gained new techniques and through these activities I can give the message to my students.

3. I improved my teaching skills and my knowledge about this big environmental problem.

4. Save the environment for next generations.

The workshop was very useful because I learnt lot and today myself I will start to recycle.

For us it is a great chance to wake up and look around again and do at least a little thing to protect the environment. You have opened my eyes as a teacher how much I can do to the society as we are always in touch with our younger generation. Therefore I promise you to do my utmost to encourage pupils to save the environment by starting very little things such as toffee wrappers, chocolate wrappers, etc. Let’s do it and see the results!!! And I appreciate you ...because you are doing a great duty to the world and the society. Thank you for being in Sri Lanka to give this valuable message to our people.

Actually we were asleep till you told us and showed us the danger. We simply try not to use plastic and give this message to our younger generation. Thank you.

1. Yes. Actually you have updated my knowledge and feelings towards the environment. I feel more about my country and determine to recycle the garbage and make my motherland so beautiful. I will do all the things with the help of my students. I hope to give this message to the society.

I feel that it is very useful because though we have different programmes at school on minimizing use of plastic, we haven’t got it into our hearts this much. The way you introduced it to us is unforgettable.

Yes, of course I will use most of the activities in my school. I will create the sea in my classroom first. Then I will ask the students to take the message to their elders and home.

I improved my creative thinking, sympathy towards animals and environment.

Very useful 5-6 hours to think of our mother nature.

It was a very good workshop.

We should pass this message (Save the world from plastic) to younger generations and help them to support the nation to have a “Plastic free world”.

So I myself try to reduce the usage of harmful things to the environment and made a wish to pass this message to the nation through my innocent students.

Your presentation is fantastic and enthusiastic. I liked it very much. Keep it up and I appreciate your service to the nation. -You can change-

Definitely useful. Because it helped a lot to stimulate the attitude of importance of protecting our environment as well as the actions we can take to overcome the enormous problem of dumping garbage and to solve the problem by recycling them.

Valuable workshop.

1. Absolutely yes. We gained a clear idea how to recycle things to keep our land clean and protect the future generations.
2. Yes. Especially creating sea picture can be done with the small students and they will get the message really well.
3. We can create some other areas of the environments and let small students know how we pollute it and get rid of it.
4. The workshop that we had here is really useful to us make awareness of the value of recycling for better future.

I improved the story telling stage to do mini dramas.

This workshop is very creative. I hope to see you in another workshop with which we can create new things from waste materials.

2. I hope to make big fish using empty plastic bottles at the entrance to the main gate.

3. I hope to introduce for my students things, information I got from this workshop. Students in my school should be aware of disadvantages of using plastic.

4. This is a good programme for teachers to make students aware about the environmental pollution and ways of recycling the waste materials.

1. Yes, the session is very impressive as it expanded the knowledge and understanding of recycling and also provided positive attitude to the process of preservation of mother nature.

1. The workshop was very useful. As I am a geography teacher for secondary students I found the workshop very useful as for grades 6-9 geography subject covers an area related to pollution of the environment and how to protect it. So I can use newly acquired knowledge to improve my teaching.

4.The programme is very useful for all Sri Lanka.

1. The workshop was very useful. Because you brought us the world out of a child. We were encouraged to think out of the box. Though we live in the world full of plastic we never thought of getting rid of it. Today we got an idea of how to prevent this problem.
2. Yes, every activity.
3. Thinking ability (creative thinking)

how to be alive in teaching.

4. One of the remarkable workshops I have every participated.

1. the products we can make using the recycled materials are amazing.
2. We can use the activities for interactive teaching at the same time to protect our environment.
3. Marvelous workshop.

1. This workshop is more useful because I got an idea that I must make our students think and work against pollution that has already got worse.

1. I got an idea that I must make our students think and work against pollution that has already got worse.
2. Pollution should be reduced by at least recycling.

1. The workshop was very useful. We did a role play. It was very good to develop students’ special abilities.
2. Yes, definitely. We can use story telling activity to make answers about the environment.
3. It’s a good workshop which gave universal message to the teachers.
4. We should improve sharing our ideas with each other.

This workshop is very important for us as teachers to inculcate good values and attitudes to the students.

1. I find this workshop very useful because our school is near the water front. So I felt a lot about the way people pollute it. So I will try to give the message through the students to the elders.

5. This workshop is Excellent! Thanks a lot!

1. The teachers can spread the idea from the children to their families also. Thus all the villagers can do something to prevent environmental pollution.

4. This workshop is wonderful, fantastic. Best wishes to you! Thank you.

1. We have become quite aware of the unseen devilish reactions of the witch-plastic. And I will be conveying the message right today.

3.I improved my creative faculty as well as attitudes.

4. The workshop is very practical and excellent.

3.I improved my imagination and creativity. It’s excellent!

4. This is very constructive and innovative workshop for the modern world.

1. This programme opened my eyes. It is such a fantastic programme.

3.We improved our creativity.

1. This workshop leads us to a new area, which was not there earlier.

4.The workshop was full of activities which showed us a new path to a new era.

1. I got a real idea about recycling./ I saw a model of real active teaching./ I learnt some teaching methods.

1. The workshop is very important and useful for the students.

4.A Fast-Grip-Workshop”. Absorbing workshop.

4. This workshop is helpful to create answers about how to protect the environment from waste.

1. We got some innovative ideas about how to use discarded things and make them into useful objects.

It was successful and I wish to have some more in the future.

1. It is a good workshop because it opened our eyes regarding the issue which affects us all. As global citizens we must be aware of this issue and I personally offer my sincere thanks to you for initiating this.

5. It is a workshop that made us think about the environment as a global problem.

1. To help our future generations to live in this world.

4.One person can do many thins to protect our world in the future.

1.I will say “No” to al least one plastic bag when shopping.

4. The workshop is very interesting, relevant and knowledgeable.

4.Very successful workshop.

3. I improved my general knowledge as well as creativity and became well aware of the environment plastic pollution.

1. Taking part today is very important for me. I was motivated to think about the use of plastic.

3. The workshop is very very useful. Our society to protect our younger generation.
4. This programme is very Fantastic.

1. Very useful. Because I did not know how much plastic affects the nature. By attending this workshop we saw and understood it.

3.If you can spread these things in the whole country we can have more results.

4. This is the most valuable workshop that I participated.

1. Yes, I think this workshop is very useful to me to carry my teaching process successful. I learnt good techniques to make interaction between students and teacher in the class.
2. I improved some techniques of teaching and got lots of things about Environment and Recycling.

4.This is a great workshop done for all the human beings in the world.

1. Yes, It was very useful. I realized that I also can use that type of activities in my teaching procedures.

1. Through participating in this workshop I extended my knowledge about recycling and classroom activities.

3.I can make my classroom activities attractive.

4. It makes me think twice about our surrounding.

4. It was useful, interesting and eye opener regarding environment, recycling and teaching methods.

1. This workshop is useful. I understood how to convey the message about the environment awareness and recycling concept to our school children.

4. One correct human step will make our world a better place.

 4. Very successful workshop for the future generations.