New website provides county educators with free sustainability, waste prevention curriculum

By Daniel Hiestand

Lane County Waste Reduction Outreach Coordinator

The other day, I came across a magazine article articulating the disconnect between the science of climate change and environmental sustainability and our education system.

Specifically, the Education Week article examined teachers' low confidence levels when tackling sustainability-related topics in the classroom.

“More so than their colleagues in other countries, U.S. teachers say they don’t feel equipped to teach lessons about sustainability—despite its rising importance in both national and international policy,” the article said.

This sentiment is not surprising considering the highly polarized U.S. political climate and the climate change science denialism in national discourse.

However, for Lane County teachers who want to teach sustainability backed by science, Waste Wise Lane County is excited to announce a new resource to boost your sustainability instruction confidence: WasteWiseLane.org.

The new website allows K-12 educators to download free standards-aligned lesson plans and activities, sign up for field trips, and schedule in-class workshops. These free resources will help teachers instruct on everything from preventing food waste to understanding climate change to advances in renewable energy.

The site was developed starting in late 2022, after Waste Wise Lane County contacted 2,000-plus county educators via survey and focus groups to gauge how much county students learn about environmental sustainability topics. Nearly 500 educators responded to the survey, and 45 participated in focus groups.

The most significant takeaways:

• Eighty-one percent are unfamiliar with Lane County sustainability programs.
• Fifty-three percent do not know if their district has a sustainability plan.
• Nearly 50 percent of teachers report their students engaging in sustainability topics.
• Twenty-nine percent reported rarely teaching sustainability; 26 percent taught at least once per semester, and 21 percent taught sustainability issues at least once a month.
• A lack of access to ready-made classroom materials was cited as the biggest roadblock.

This new site attempts to address these shortcomings.

If you have a Lane County student, contact your school officials to inform them about this powerful new tool to help our youngest prepare for a rapidly changing future.

Visit WasteWiseLane.org to learn more.

Waste Wise Tip: Waste Wise News—School Edition

Are you a student who wants to learn more about bringing sustainability to your daily decisions? The Waste Wise News—School Edition, published by Lane County Waste Management, can help. Get inspired by what other young people are doing to have their voices heard regarding the climate crisis, and learn how you can make more sustainable decisions when buying new electronics and clothing or even how you get to school. Visit lanecountyor.gov/wastewise-schools to download the guide today.

Waste Wise Lane County, a part of the Lane County Waste Management Division, seeks to empower residents, businesses, and schools with resources to reduce waste and live sustainably. Sign up for the Waste Wise newsletter and discover more climate resilience resources at lanecountyor.gov/wastewise.

 Using WasteWiseLane.org, educators who teach third grade through high school can schedule local field trips with BRING to visit Short Mountain Landfill, BRING’s Planet Improvement Center, or Glenwood Transfer Station (pictured). Photo by Daniel Hiestand.