EDUCATION

The Wood County Solid Waste Management District offers presentations, tours, and
resources for all ages and sizes of groups.  Contact us for more information.

Green Living

This past year we have been busier than ever!  It seems being “green” has become a new way of life and is finally working its way into our daily choices!  Want to see how you are doing?  We have explored a few of the Eco/Carbon Footprint websites that are currently available, and have found many of them to be fun and educational tools for influencing greener choices.  Great for use in groups, classroom settings, or individuals, these sites not only assess your current choices, but help you to decrease your footprint on the earth by providing helpful suggestions for improving your score.  Visit the links below, and please contact us for more information on proper waste disposal, recycling opportunities, and green living solutions.  We would be more than happy to present at your school, club meeting, or other group events!

Earth Day Network:
www.earthday.net/footprint/index.html

 Conservation International:
www.conservation.org/Act/live_green/pages/ecofootprint.aspx

Environmental Protection Agency’s Carbon Emissions Quiz:
www.epa.gov/climatechange/emissions/ind_calculator.html

Global Footprint Network:
www.footprintnetwork.org

EarthLab Carbon and Lifestyle Calculator:
www.earthlab.com

PRESENTATIONS

Many presentations are available. Below are listed a sampling of our most popular. The length of the presentation varies depending on which presentation you select, the age group, and your needs. We are available for multiple presentations.

Contact us at 419-354-9297 or by email at wcswmd@wcnet.org for more information!

Amanda Gamby, Environmental Educator

Erica Bruielly, Education Assistant

 

• Edible Landfills & Trashology 101
  Food items are used to construct a BAT (Best Available Technology) landfill,
  then the students are able to eat it!

• The Wartville Wizard (littering)
  Students will color stick hand puppets from the book The Wartville Wizard then
  read the book in an interactive story telling session.

• The Happy Recyclables
  Young learners will hear about the basics of recycling as recyclables come to life
  (milk jug, tin can, aluminum beverage can, etc.).

• Paper Making
  Students will take old, used paper and create new, handmade paper products to
  make useable items such as writing paper, jewelry, art projects, or seed packets.

• Little Hands Help the Earth
  A playground scene with attached litter, children will sort and separate the garbage
   with regard to recycling, reusing, reducing, and composting issues.

• A Fish Called Willy
  How can we help the environment? Willy, a pretend fish, lives in a nice clean world
  of water. Then Willy's world is trashed. For the primary grades, litter makes Willy's
  world dirty. For the intermediate grades, various pollutants are used to simulate how
  the world is affected by how and where we dispose of our trash. The "Happy Recyclables"
  are also introduced.

• Earth Balls
  Participants will change liquid ingredients into a solid polymer (plastic) ball, which will
  represent the Earth. Throughout this activity, there will be discussion on ways to help
  our environment and preserve the Earth.

• Home Safe Home
  Home Safe Home is an informative presentation about the possible hazards of using chemical cleaners in the home.  It offers safe alternatives to common household cleaners with cleaning recipes made from inexpensive ingredients such as baking soda and lemon juice.  The presentation includes demonstrations and the opportunity to make home-friendly toothpaste and/or bath salts, as well as several take home guides and information sheets. 

• Newspaper Pots
  A presentation that promotes recycling and reuse by allowing children to make their own flower pots of out of old newspaper.  Educational handouts and displays on decomposition are available for use with the project. 

• Michael Recycle
  Pre-K - 2nd grade students read the book/poem "Michael Recycle," and discuss the benefits of recycling and waste reduction.  After the book reading and discussion, the presentation concludes with a craft project to supplement the book.  Students use old newspapers to make hats and capes similar to the ones that Michael wears in the book.  There is also an option for the Can Cruncher to be used for a craft project as well.  Students can crush aluminum pop cans and make necklaces out of them.

• Compost & Vermicompost
  This presentation can be tailored to any age group/setting depending on your needs and expectations.  A Powerpoint presentation on the “whys and hows” of composting is available, as well as, several composting activities.  Some examples include the WOW activity, “YIMBY’s,” searching through compost to find live decomposers, and a live worm bin demonstration.  We can also teach you how to build your own Vermicomposting Bin for your classroom!

• Recycling 101
  Looking to increase recycling opportunities at home, school, or in your workplace?  Not sure what resources are available or where to begin?  We are here to help!  Whether you are just beginning a new collection program or need a refresher on what can be recycled, our Education Staff can work with you to develop a presentation specific to your needs.  Several educational handouts are available, as well as, demonstrations of the recycling process and examples of products made from various recycled materials.  We can also work with you to coordinate a collection system and provide the proper bins for the separation of recyclables.
   

LOAN BOXES

This is an exciting new program for us! We've taken our most popular presentations and packaged them up for you to be used at your pace and at your convenience. We'll even drop them off at your school! We'll deliver a box, ready with all the supplies, visuals, and information that you need, on Monday and pick it up on Friday. We do ask a two (2) week advance notice so that we have plenty of time to pack a box for you. If you need more than one week, ask about arrangements! Below are the loan boxes we have available, and more are coming soon.

• Edible Landfills

• The Wartville Wizard (littering)

• Little Hands Help the Earth

LENDING LIBRARY

We have an extensive book and video library ready to assist you with your environmental education. From children's books to grownup resources to a wide selection of fun and educational activities, you can find it here! Our videos range from the very short to as-much-as-you-ever-wanted-to-know long! All materials are available to be checked out, and we can help you find what you're looking for - even if you don't know what it is yet! Just a few titles are listed below.

BOOKS

• The Wartville Wizard by Don Madden

• The Lorax by Dr. Seuss

• It's Not My Job by Ted Lish and Charles Jordan

• Worms Eat My Garbage! by Mary Appelhof

• A Slice of Organic Life by Sheherazade Goldsmith

• Basic Composting by Eric Ebeling

• The Down-To-Earth Guide to Global Warming by Laurie David and Cambria Gordon

• Let it Rot by Stu Campbell

• The Naturally Clean Home by Karyn Siegel-Maier

• The Rodale Book of Composting by Deborah Martin and Grace Gurshuny

• 356 Ways to Save the Earth by Philippe Bourseiller

• Wiggling Worms at Work by Wendy Pfeffer

• The Magic School Bus Gets Recyled by Anne Capeci

• The Safe Shopper's Bible by David Steinman & Samuel Epstein

• Green Up Your Cleanup by Jill Potvin Schoff

• Michael Recycle by Ellie Bethel

NEW - JUST IN!

“A Sand County Almanac”
Aldo Leopold

This attractive book was a generous gift given to us in appreciation for attending the Leopold Education Project in October of 2008. LEP was hosted by the Wood-Lucas County branch of Pheasants Forever.

A Sand County Almanac has been called one of the most influential writings about humans and the environment ever written.  This Book is a collection of essays that takes the reader from January through December of a year at Leopold’s isolated cabin in the Wisconsin wilderness. This edition of the book includes an introduction that reflects on his life and career as an environmentalist, other famous essays about conservation, as well as full-page photographs of wildlife and nature by award winning photographer Michael Sewell.

We thank Lou Best and the Wood-Lucas chapter of Pheasants Forever for this wonderful addition to our lending library. We are excited to incorporate LEP techniques and activities in our future programs!

VIDEOS

• Mister Roger's Neighborhood:  The Environment & Recycling

• Dr. Seuss' The Lorax

• From the History Channel, Modern Marvels:  Garbage

• Earth Day

• Bill Nye the Science Guy:  Pollution Solutions
  
  NEW - JUST IN

• An Inconvenient Truth:  A Global Warning

GAMES

• Toss the Trash!

AND MANY OTHERS!
 Please contact us to schedule a visit to browse our Lending Library.  We would be happy to loan books, videos, loan boxes, and other materials to you for use in your classroom, daycare, or other educational setting.

WINDOWS ON WASTE (W.O.W.)

Recently updated to include Ohio's Academic Content Standards!

Windows on Waste (WOW) is an elementary, interdisciplinary, environmental studies activity guidebook published by the Ohio Department of Natural Resources, Division of Recycling & Litter Prevention (ODNR/DRLP) to help educators teach students about solid waste and environmental issues. Lessons were thoroughly developed and tested with the help of educators from across the state

When Windows on Waste was produced in 1999, the 36 activities in the guidebook were correlated to Ohio’s old fourth and sixth grade Proficiency Test Learning Outcomes.  Recently, the activities were correlated with Ohio’s new standards, the Academic Content Standards, for grades K-5!  Please click here for a copy of the new correlations. New Content Standards

Copies of the WOW curriculum can be obtained by contacting our office.  We also have loan kits available for many of the activities found in the guide for your use, or we would be happy to schedule a time to come out to your classroom.  Please call for more details!

We are available to conduct WOW workshops, which makes available the entire WOW guidebook on CD-Rom. If you're interested in holding a WOW workshop, contact us for dates and times available.