Students explore the impact of food waste on our communities, focusing on how students can take action to reduce food waste. Students investigate why food is thrown away, how they can reduce the amount of food disposed of, and ensure that food waste is composted to contribute to healthy environments. Students also develop an understanding of where their food waste goes when it is thrown away instead of composted.
Students will develop an understanding of the food decomposition process, how landfilled organic waste releases greenhouse gases, and how food scraps can be used to create compost. Lessons introduce strategies that students can commit to as individuals as well as strategies that may take schoolwide effort. The unit culminates with an action plan to help students and the school community waste less food. Pairing action with learning helps students to feel empowered and hopeful.
Want to talk through the lesson plans? Need support customizing a unit for your classroom?
Drop into office hours on the 2nd and 4th Wednesday of each month from 4:00-5:00pm PT for free support from Holly or another Seeds to Solutions team member.
“From my students: ‘Thank you for teaching us this lesson because if you didn’t it would be bad for our environment.’ ‘This was awesome! Can you do more? Thank you!’ ‘Thank you for helping us in taking care of the environment.'”
“The message that there are solutions to help us combat climate change and that people are working together to solve problems helped students stay in a place of curiosity; they didn’t show anxiety over the content.”
“There is something for all different kinds of learners. We are moving spaces, drawing, talking in big and small groups, writing. Some of my kiddos who would have been disengaged quite possibly the entire time were engaged in at least two or more parts of this lesson.”
“My kids have said, ‘Oh good, I like doing this,’ when we were starting the lesson each day. It’s a great topic. I also think it has made them more curious and do their own research.”
“I heard comments like, ‘I didn’t realize how much climate change affects my community,’ and, ‘This project made me think about what I can do to help.'”
“I have learned ways to improve my teaching, and I have been at this for 38 years. The students are gaining a deeper understanding of what climate change is: what causes climate change, and the impact of climate change on crop yield.”
“Students really enjoyed the hands-on activity. They were very interested to learn about the different pollutants that they’ve never heard of. It also developed their curiosity about air quality and pollution. It was an eye-opener for some that they are able to see what is mostly ‘unseen’ by everyone.”
“What I find interesting is that students are discussing the material outside of class time. I heard students discussing the ideas before class in the hallways and even during lunch periods.”
“Using the maps and seeing things like schools and how close they are to hazards is really cool. They may not be super connected personally, but they can put themselves in the shoes of other kids and try to relate. I know it’s working because I have a kid that just watches Netflix all day, every day and he pulled out his earbud and participated!”
“They’ve never thought about stuff like this before, and now they’re sharing it. One girl said this was the only class that she went home and talked to her parents about.”
“I am so amazed and impressed by the depth of resources that you embedded in the teacher guide. This is really well put together.”
“When you’re out in the workforce, you’re trying to solve problems that don’t have a clear, immediate answer. So doing stuff like this helps give students practice.”
Maria Nichols, San Diego USD
Meagan Nelson-Palamara, Curriculum Developer
Angelle Lailhengue, Curriculum Developer
Emily Schell, University of San Diego
Roni Jones, Ten Strands
Stephanie Buttell-Maxin, CA Global Education Project
Chelsea Cochrane, San Diego COE
Laura Tucker, Science Educator
Sandi Yellenberg, Science Educator
Matt Ellinger, Designer
Elaine Klein, BSCS
Stacey Lane, Illustrator
Evan Schell, Evan Schell Photography
Children’s Environmental Literacy Foundation
Hannah Ammerman, Santa Rosa City Schools
Louisa Bolton-Ast, Round Valley School District
Kim Douillard, Cardiff School District
Stefanie Freele, West Side UESD
Lisa Garcia, Fremont USD
Karen Gomez, New Heights Charter School
Elena Hood, Spencer Valley ESD
Elizabeth Volmer, Jefferson ESD
Rebecca Wilcox, Los Angeles USD
