In honor of Earth Day, I conducted three projects at SMK Labis, a school-wide “Black Out,” a recycled art project, and a recycled planting project.
On Monday morning, I took the microphone and once again spoke in front of all 700 students in my school as well as all of the teachers and staff who are required to be at Monday assembly. “What is today?” I ask the students. At first I hear a couple “Mondays,” but then I hear the response I was waiting for. “It’s Earth Day!”
“Yes it is. And today we are participating in two projects.” One, the Recycled Art project, my students already knew about as I had been promoting it for the past week. But first, we were going to have a school-wide “Black Out.” A what? A black out. For third and fourth periods, a time frame of 80 minutes, students and teachers would be required to go about their daily routines without lights, fans, phones, or computers. (Don’t worry, permission and support was first obtained by the headmaster.)
Considering all of the classrooms receive direct sunlight – two walls are lined with windows – and very few are equipped with any technological gadgets, this activity did not hinder the students’ ability to learn. The real impact was the lack of fans. Although conducted in the morning when the weather is cooler, it’s still warm at all hours of the day. Some of the students complained of the heat and even I sweated more than usual during my class, but the purpose of the activity was understood and appreciated by the students.
A Form 3 class using no lights or fans during the Black Out
After school, I was joined by students in almost every Form for the Recycled Art project. I challenged students to create original art out of recycled materials. My only requirement was that they only used recycled materials, excluding adhesives. The students rose to the challenge and created some very original pieces.
The masterpieces included:
The Petronas Twin Towers (with accompanying cat)
Made of: Water bottles, newspaper, straws, and toothpicks
A Car
Made of: Cardboard and bottles
Robots
Made of: Cardboard boxes and cans
A birdhouse, including nest and eggs
Made of: Cardboard, paper, tin cans, paper shavings, and bottles
A Dress with accessories
Made of: Plastic bags, paper, cardboard box, and food wrappers
Front of dress with accessories
Back of dress
I am so proud of my students’ creativity. They really impressed me with their recycled art projects.
The third, and final, Earth Day activity I did, besides simple class lessons on the 3 R’s and ways we can protect the Earth and conserve the Earth’s resources, was Recycled Planting. My Form 2C and 2D classes brought water bottles to class which we turned into plant pots. Water bottles, a rock, soil, seeds, and water, plus a pair of scissors to cut the bottle – that’s all we needed. The students enjoyed getting out of the classroom and doing a hands-on activity since they don’t often have the opportunity to do so. They didn’t even freak out (too much) when they found a big frog in the bag of soil brought by one of the teachers!
I must take this opportunity to thank my headmaster, Amat Paijan bin Saruwal, and my fellow teachers who may have been inconvenienced by the Black Out, for supporting my Earth Day activities. I am very appreciative of the support my school gives me as my projects and camps would not be possible without this support!
Some of the students with their Recycled Art projects on display during Wednesday assembly
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