Sustainable School
Introduction
Sustainable Style is inspired by the Lifers exhibition at ROM created by artist Noelle Hamlyn.
In 2019, Noelle collected some life jackets that had washed up on a beach, and these life jackets inspired Lifers.
Noelle found previously used clothing in thrift stores and other places, and tailored them to cover the life jackets. These “Lifers” were made to inspire thoughts and questions. One important question is “how can we live more sustainably?
This activity challenges you to re-imagine our relationship with the world around us. If you had the power to change anything and everything about your school or community, how would you re-design it in a sustainable way?
Background Information
When Noelle Hamlyn is creating a Lifer, she thinks about the style of the clothing, how it was originally meant to be worn, how it was made, what the worn spots say about how its original owner wore it, and how it was decorated.
Noelle wants to remind us that every piece of clothing holds a story worth preserving, and Lifers help to tell that story.
At the same time, Lifers also make us think about how the ways we make and use our clothes affects the Earth around us.
The effects of the fashion industry affect water, the climate, the workers involved, and the waste we produce.
By applying everything you’ve learned from the Sustainable Style tour and activities to re-imagine your school or community, you can help teach others how to make more sustainable choices, and remind yourself how to make sustainable choices in the future.
You will need
Sustainable School Worksheet [Google] [Word] [PDF]
Pencil
Paper
Instructions
Step 1
Be sure you’ve completed other Sustainable Style activities assigned to you and explored the Sustainable Style tour (especially stops 1 and 2).
Step 2
With your teacher’s help, figure out if you will be building a sustainable school or community, and if you will be working on your own, in groups, or as a whole class.
Step 3
Use what you’ve learned about climate change and sustainability to brainstorm what you would change, build, or include in your sustainable school or community.
Use the Sustainable School worksheet [Google] [Word] [PDF] to help organize your thoughts.
Step 4
Create a rough plan of your sustainable school or community and show it to your teacher or classmates for feedback.
You can create your plan on paper, or use design tools like Canva or a digital whiteboard.
Don't forget to think about how to make your school/community accessible to everyone!
Step 5
Use Minecraft tools to bring your school or community to life.
You could:
Change or rebuild existing buildings to be more sustainable.
Change or rebuild power supplies to be more sustainable.
Change the way the land in the community is used.
Add buildings, plants, or features to make the community more sustainable.
Use redstone or command block tricks for advanced details
Note: The walls and ceiling of the school are hollow to make it easier to add redstone solutions.
Step 6
Use slates, posters, and boards to your sustainable choices to explain what they are and how they make your school or community more sustainable.
Step 7
Create a tour of your sustainable community, explaining your sustainable choices.
You could:
Create a guidebook using the camera and a book & quill
Create a video tour using an editor like Flip, ClipChamp, or Screencastify.
Ask your teacher which method you should use.
Follow Up
Thought Questions:
How has this project changed the way you think about sustainable choices?
What are some new things you learned doing this project?
Will you make any changes in your own life based on what you learned? Why or why not?
Extension Activities:
Research local Indigenous Ways of Knowing. What sustainable practices could help you with your sustainable school plan?
Make a case to your principal or vice principal to use some of your sustainable ideas at school.
Brainstorm sustainable solutions you can use in your classroom.