IH 7 Week Environmental Sustainability Challenge

As part of the IH Young Environmentalists Project, the students came up with a plan to encourage people to take positive actions to protect our planet.

Inspired by this, you too can get involved with the IH 7-week Environmental Sustainability Challenge!

It is easy  - just take part in one (or all!) of the challenges below and share a snap of your sustainable actions on social media using this hashtag: #IHProtectingOurPlanet

Promote around your school with this poster <<download>>

Week 1: 12th April – Sorting out the Rubbish

This is something you almost certainly do already, but perhaps you can spend the week recycling as much as you possibly can or encourage your colleagues to recycle. You could even go out into the local community to raise awareness about recycling.

Share on your social media with the hashtag: #IHProtectingOurPlanet and this "Challenge Week 1" image <<download>>

Week 2: 19th April – Saving Water and Electricity

As humans, we often use water and electricity carelessly which has a negative effect on the environment. Some ideas the Young Environmentalists came up with the save water and electricity include:

• Switch off the light in a room when you leave it.
• Turn off the water when you brush your teeth.
• Unplug your devices before leaving home.

Watch the video they created:

Do you have more ideas? Share them with us! #IHProtectingOurPlanet, and the "Challenge Week 2 " image <<download>>

Week 3: 26th April – Grow Plants at Home

There are lots of positive reasons why having plants in our homes and gardens is beneficial for the environment:

• Plants are the best protectors from indoor air pollution.
• They can cheer you up within a short time.
• You can grow your own food.
• It is a good decoration for your room/flat/house.

The Young Environmentalists group took this photo in one of their own homes:

Do you grow plants at home? Maybe you have your own vegetable patch or fruit plant. This is the week to show them off, or start a new green-fingered project!

Share on your social media with #IHProtectingOurPlanet, and this "Challenge Week 3 " image <<download>>

Week 4: 3rd May – Environmentally Friendly Shopping Lists

The Young Environmentalists suggested that by making a shopping list, you could save the environment through not having wasted food and litter – and you could save money! They advised:

• Make a shopping list before going to a shop.
• Avoid being hungry while shopping in order not to buy any unnecessary stuff.
• Try to buy ONLY those foods which you really NEED.

Watch this video created by the group:

Make a shopping list this week and stick to it and see if you can use every single item you buy. Don’t forget to share your creative meals with us, or take a photo at the end of the week of your minimal leftovers! 

Share on your social media with #IHProtectingOurPlanet and this "Challenge Week 4 " image <<download>>

Week 5: 10th May – Walk More, use Cars Less

Today, the majority of the world’s population lives in towns and cities, and very often families will have more than one car. Cars release a lot of CO2 into the atmosphere which causes the greenhouse effect and global warming.

During this week, why not try to complete all your journeys without using a car? This might be fairly easy if you live near your workplace or the supermarket, so instead, why not see how many steps you can take in a week? Or count your KMs and share with us!

The group created this video:

Share on your social media with with #IHProtectingOurPlanet and this "Challenge Week 5 " image <<download>>

Week 6: 17th May – Clean-up Day

During the IH Young Environmentalists Project, the students gathered to clean their local park. They collected all the rubbish, sorted it out, and took it to a recycling centre. Following the Covid-19 safety guidelines wherever you live, you could assemble a small group to the same thing in your area. If we all did a little more to help clean public spaces, it would make them more attractive and much healthier.

Share on your social media with with #IHProtectingOurPlanet and this "Challenge Week 6 " image <<download>>

Week 7: 24th May – Eco Lessons

To sum up their experience, the Young Environmentalists made a list of recommendations. 

Indoors:

• Sort out your rubbish and take it to a nearby recycling centre.
• Save light by switching it off when you leave, water while brushing your teeth and paper when you print documents out: use both sides of the paper.
• Grow and take care of indoor plants, vegetables or fruit as they make the air in your house cleaner and your diet healthier!

Outdoors:

• Make a list of foods that you intend to buy and keep to it while shopping (avoid being hungry then as well).
• Walk or use public transport instead of going by cars in order to reduce the number of exhaust fumes.
• Collect trash in parks, roads, streets as well as near your house, school or office.

Do you have any lessons to share with us? Post them on social media with the hashtag: #IHProtectingOurPlanet, and use this "Challenge Week 7 " image <<download>>

Thanks to the IH Young Environmentalists Group for sharing these ideas with us all. 

Let’s all make our planet a better and greener place !