For the second year in a row, I made a trip to a local elementary school to give a presentation to kids about green building and recycled products. Interest from teachers was particularly strong this year, so what started out as a small presentation with a couple classes was moved to the cafeteria and before I knew it there were nine 4th and 5th classes in front of me!
Hands-on, interactive presentations are always the best to keep everyone interested and demonstrate what's being said. After running through a slideshow about what green building is, we broke the kids into groups and showed them examples of different recycled and renewable products – counter tops made from old toilets and sinks; insulation made from cotton; carpets made from corn; and floor tiles made from cork.
It can be difficult to explain what a green building is, how it is better for the environment, and how recycled products can be incorporated. The hands-on portion was great, because it had the kids guessing and asking questions. The most pointed question of the day came from a 4th grade student: "What materials in my classroom are green?" Looking around, I noticed particleboard desks and vinyl flooring ... not many green products. I found a thin strip of cork above the whiteboard and pointed it out. The students seemed unimpressed. Why weren't their desks made of sunflowers and their floors made of toilets? That's a good question.
At the end, we left each of the kids with reusable shopping bags. The kids were tasked by their teachers to write letters to their parents about what they learned and how they were going to be friendlier to the planet. Now if only their schools could have desks made of recycled content, corn carpets, and bamboo floors ...
-Karen
Karen Blust is a Green Building Consultant at CTG Energetics
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