Students investigate litter, waste, and resource use on campus to answer a real community question and design practical solutions that help care for the planet. Through a school walkthrough, research, assemblies with I Love A Clean San Diego, and a beach cleanup field experience, they learn how individual and community actions affect Earth’s resources and climate. They apply science, communication, and collaboration skills to create public products such as PSAs, presentations, proposals, and cleanup plans for authentic audiences. Across reflection, critique, and revision, students build the belief that their actions can create visible change at school and in the wider community.

Students investigate how human actions affect Earth’s resources and environment by conducting a campus litter walkthrough, participating in I Love A Clean San Diego assemblies, and analyzing solutions such as recycling, composting, and food-waste systems. They gather and combine information from videos, research, and a beach clean-up field experience to explain how communities use science ideas to reduce waste and protect natural resources. Students develop persuasive communication and collaboration skills as they create, critique, revise, and present products such as PSA videos, posters, bilingual presentations, cleanup plans, recycled art, and proposals for change for the school community and Open House audience. Students reflect on their role in caring for the planet, contributing to climate change solutions, and recognizing that their actions can create meaningful change in their school and community.

Students will create field notes and photo maps from a campus litter walkthrough, research notes on recycling, composting, and behavior change, and draft persuasive messages in English and Spanish. Final products will include a PSA video, PSA poster, classroom presentation for lower grades, proposals for schoolwide changes, and a plan for a school cleanup informed by the beach cleanup and I Love A Clean San Diego learning. Students may also create a recycled art piece, recycling project, or interpretive dance to communicate their message at Open House. Each product will go through Critical Friends feedback, self-reflection, and presentation practice before exhibition.

Kick off with an I Love A Clean San Diego assembly on the 3 Rs and food waste, followed by a fast campus litter walk where students photograph and map problem areas they notice. Back in class, students sort the evidence into categories such as recycling, compost, and trash, then discuss how litter affects the school, local habitats, and climate change. End with a brief beach clean-up field trip video or guest story from the community partner to connect campus issues to the wider community, and have students record an initial reflection about how they can care for the planet and create change. This shared experience naturally launches teams into the challenge of designing PSAs, proposals, and cleanup plans for a real audience.

At Open House, students can curate an interactive Earth Day action showcase featuring their PSA videos, posters, recycled art, recycling projects, interpretive dance performances, and proposals for campus change. They can present in English and Spanish to families, lower-grade classes, community members, and district leaders, while using QR codes to share digital work and invite visitors to sign a school commitment poster. Students can also reveal the results of their campus walkthrough, beach cleanup, and schoolwide cleanup plan, highlighting how their ideas connect to real systems like recycling and composting. Partner participation from I Love A Clean San Diego can deepen the event by providing feedback, celebrating student action, and helping connect the work to ongoing community efforts.