Taitung's Ver Green Kindergarten is holding environmental education activities on its campus, teaching students to make paper from discarded scraps and using recycled items to make picture story books.
The school, which is also using unwanted vegetable roots to grow new plants, will have an exhibit at the National Museum of Prehistory with kindergarteners acting as guides. The children are set to explain to visitors the process of getting into environmental protection in a hands-on way.
Li Yue-ching, principal of Ver Green Kindergarten, said the environmental education project is part of the museum’s Low-Carbon Taiwan, High-Expectation Future display.
According to Li, the school set about designing age-specific environmental projects for the student. The older class used waste paper to make recycled paper, and then wrote down some ideas about protecting the environment on their new paper. They also teamed up to use cardboard boxes and cartons to build impressive structures, such as a model of the Taipei 101 skyscraper.
Kindergartners in the middle class grew vegetables and, during the process, learned that pesticides and chemical fertilizers can harm the environment. They also discussed how to use the earth in a good way, Li said.
But the most important lesson was learned by children in the youngest age group, who worked in a sandbox using toy backhoes and model trees to construct a green park complete with anti-erosion plantings.
“The children learned that their teachers and parents hope they will take care of the environment,” Li said.
(This article appeared June 8 in The Liberty Times.)