Teacher Preparation

Overarching learning goal: Students organise an Earth Hour event or activity. They take action to reduce their school’s carbon footprint and promote positive environmental behaviours.

Teacher content information: Earth Hour is a WWF-Australia initiative, and is the world’s largest community-driven climate change campaign. At the centre of Earth Hour is switching off lights to show a commitment to taking action. Thousands of educators use Earth Hour’s education program to enrich their curriculum and provide pathways for young people to create change in their world.

Download the Earth Hour starter kit for your school or service: Earth Hour for Schools

Planning an Earth Hour event is a great way for students to build their project planning skills. Allow students the freedom to think outside the box and plan events that can make a real impact. However, when you select the events your school will run ensure that they are achievable.

Student and classroom organisation

Step 1.

Finding out about Earth Hour.

Students spend a few minutes introducing/refreshing the concept of Earth Hour by taking the following quiz:

Question

1. What is Earth Hour?

2. When is the next Earth Hour?

3. What does Earth Hour encourage people to do?

4. Who can participate in Earth Hour?

Answers can be corrected after students study the Earth Hour website: www.earthhour.org.au

Step 2:

Planning your Earth Hour Event

Your school can take action to reduce its carbon footprint by initiating a range of sustainability ideas. In this activity, students plan how to conduct their Earth Hour events and implement other creative ways to participate.

Divide your class into small groups of four or five and get your students to collaboratively plan their Earth Hour event using the steps in the table below.

Tell your students that the class will vote on the best Earth Hour plan and implement it at a whole school level. Encourage your students to think outside the box. There are many things your school can do other than simply turning off the lights for one hour.

Action Plan

1. Brainstorm	As a group brainstorm some Earth Hour event ideas. Think about how you can reduce your carbon footprint and what ideas might encourage other people from the community to do the same. No idea is too big or small during this brainstorm. Once you have finished, organise the ideas into two columns - events you can do now and events you can do later. As a group, select which ideas you will run with from the now column.
2. Background Research	Use the internet to research how you will run your events. Find case studies and build on your brainstorming.
3. Action Plan	Answer the following questions: How do we do it? What steps are required for it to run successfully? Where do we do it? Will you involve the whole school community? Parents and the wider community? What materials and resources do we need? Signs? Art work? Who will do it? Will teachers be responsible for turning off the lights? Do we need to get permission to do it? Principal, School Council? Will it cost money to do and how could the money be raised? What communication will need to take place? How will you tell the school community? Newsletter? Local paper? Social media? Are there barriers to achieving your plans?
4. The Final Plan	Draw up a good copy of the action plan with names assigned to tasks and completion dates. Who will perform the tasks? Divide up the work.
5. Evaluation of the Event	How will you collect evidence of the event's impacts? Did it inspire others to take part in further action? How would you improve the plans for next year? Who will collect photos and videos when it is all happening?

Fun ideas for Earth Hour

Host an Earth Hour assembly during the week of Earth Hour. Invite students to participate, or ask a guest speaker to come along.
Conduct a student-led school energy audit the week of Earth Hour. Collate and graph data from the school energy bills to identify trends in your energy use.
Run a recycled waste competition.
Involve your local community. Tell them you’re participating in Earth Hour and why. Encourage them to make the switch to renewables. Include an item in your newsletter!
Get crafty with Earth Hour Games.
Hold an Earth Hour fête where student bring recycled toys to swap.
Have a class debate! You are welcome to choose any topic relating to sustainability and the environment for your debate. If you’re stuck for ideas, why not consider affirmative and negative positions on one of the following topics: Can one hour really make a difference? If politicians make the big decisions, can young people make any difference? Can one person’s actions really make a difference to the state of the environment?

Earth Hour - Running an Event

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