Smart Eco Friendly Classroom Tips for Teachers

As a teacher, your duty doesn’t end by imparting what is mentioned in the assigned books to your students. It is also your duty to mould them to be better citizens. If you had not given it much thought till now, why not take the first step today itself by going green?

Are you still confused about where to start?  Then, try these smart eco friendly classroom tips:

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Reduce Paper Wastage

Paper is a necessity in any classroom. But, what usually happens is that students simply grab a sheet of paper, but use may be one page of it and then, grab another. Avoid such situations by advising the students to use both sides of the paper. Teach them about how papers come from trees and how trees play an important role in our survival on Earth. Opting for recycled paper is also a great idea that can make a huge difference.

Use eco-friendly school supplies

If you look online, you may find pens and pencils made from denim, recycled plastics, newspapers and other such materials you might have never thought of. Add them to your eco friendly classroom for your students to use. Also, make them understand why the pencils and pens they  use are eco-friendly.

Maximise the use of Technology

The idea of smart classrooms has been spreading slowly. It’s time for you to opt  the same. Use of technology in classrooms can help limit the use of papers and hence, help in saving trees. You can make your syllabi available online so that your students can easily download and use. Also allow students to submit assignments and attend exams online. While using technology, consider the following tips to a make your classroom more eco-friendly:

• Instead of using screen savers, put classroom computers in sleep mode, when they are not in use. This can help you reduce energy use by 60 to 70 percent.
• Plug all classroom electronics into a power strip and switch it off at the end of each day thereby reducing energy use up to 40 percent.

Get a Recycling Bin 

Add a recycling bin to your classroom and encourage your students to use it to dispose recyclable waste such as paper and plastic in them. You can get them recycled and use it again in your classroom. What more do you need for an eco friendly classroom?

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Turn off the lights when not needed

Ask your students to switch off the lights if they are the last one to leave the class. Also use minimum number of lights or no lights at all if you have enough natural light coming into your class while opening the windows. This is a simple way to save energy.

Bring plants into the Classroom

They will help purify the air in the classroom. Also, this will help students to learn about taking care of living beings. Also, assign the responsibility to each student to water the plants every day.

Turn the lunch time green

Ask your students to use re-usable lunch boxes and water bottles to the class to turn it to an eco friendly classroom. Also, place a bin in your classroom for your students to dispose food waste. This food waste can then be turned into fertilizers for the plans placed in the classroom.

Have a lesson outside

This is not exactly an eco-friendly “classroom” tip. Take your students outside the classroom once in a while. Let them mingle with the nature while you teach them about weather, flora and fauna and local geography. Also, plan some eco activities for schools to make learning time fun for your students.

Did we miss any eco-friendly classroom tips? Teachers, feel free to add the steps you take to turn your classrooms eco-friendly in the comment section below. Also, do not forget to adopt the above mentioned tips for an eco-friendly classroom if you are not using them already.