Explain how sustainability and stewardship apply to you
Describe why food waste and the disposal of food are subjects of national attention.
Explain how composting contributes as a solution to food waste concerns.
Identify aspects of the Leelanau community that are impacted by our composting practices.
Please watch this short introduction to Lesson 1
Learning Tasks for this Lesson
By the end of this lesson, you will:
THINK: Access your Reflection Journal Google Doc and responded to two reflection questions
LEARN: View, read, and explore the text, images, and videos
SHARE: Contribute to a class Popplet
REVIEW: Complete a quiz to check your understanding
THINK
Questions for Reflection Your first task is to access your Reflection Journal in Google Classroom. For this lesson, you will consider and reflection on the following two questions:
- To what extent does sustainability matter to me? - How do I participate in Stewardship of the Leelanau School community?
This task is worth up to 5 points. Full points will be granted for thoughtful responses to both questions that are thorough, at least 4-5 sentences each, and detailed.
LEARN
LEARN Guided Notes: As you explore these LEARN resources, you will collect notes on a Guided Notes Google Doc. You will access this Doc on Google Classroom or by clicking this link. You will need to make a copy for yourself and then share your notes with me. Let me know if you have any questions! Happy exploring!
In 2017, a documentary was released that explored the problem of wasted food in the United States and around the world. This documentary, "Wasted! The Story of Food Waste" was just one of many attempts to help people understand the impact of so much food entering landfills. Take a moment to watch the trailer for this documentary below.
In this short trailer, who was featured responding to this call to action to rethink food waste?
Chefs, families, schools, food producers, and consumers can all respond to this problem of food waste. If you would like to view this full documentary, you can stream it online from YouTube, Google Play, and Amazon.
At The Leelanau School, we have also responded to this call to action. We are committed to reducing the amount of food waste that enters our local landfill. This initiative is accomplished in several ways:
In our hot food line, food is served in recommended portion sizes. We are invited to return to the line when we would like to have a second serving, but our initial serving helps us take only what we are likely to finish.
We communicate with the Nutrition Services team when students or staff will not be on campus for meals. They try to maintain accurate meal counts to avoid making too much food.
We enjoy left-over Fridays! Lunch time on Fridays is a time to serve the food left over from other meals while it is still fresh and delicious. This prevents the prepared food from spoiling and being thrown away.
We celebrate during our Ugly Food Chopped Challenge! In this competitive activity, we use Ugly Food - food that has lost its initial aesthetic appeal, but not its nutrition - to prepare unique and creative dishes. The food is donated from local food producers and can feature a wide variety of ingredients.
We compost.
Was this a surprise to learn? Food waste that enters a landfill does not breakdown and become reusable soil. We will learn about the process and science of composting in the next lessons.
It is time to explore some resources. As you read, think about what surprises you, inspires you, or provokes you. Jot some reactions on our Google Classroom stream.
Now, please read this article from The Atlantic, which explains some of the contributing factors related to food waste in the United States: Why Americans Lead the World in Food Waste
Finally, please explore this website: Food is for Eating. It was published in collaboration by the European Union and represents food waste statistics from around the world.
SHARE
In this lesson so far, you have explored the impacts of food waste on the world and learned some of the reasons why composting is important to mitigate these impacts. As we progress in the lessons, you will learn about composting more specifically. Drawing on your own knowledge, please follow the link below to a Popplet. Popplet is a tool we will use to generate ideas together. On this Popplet, please consider the following question and record your thoughts. To add to the Popplet, please look for an email invitation from me.
What aspects of the Leelanau School community are impacted by our composting practices?
Please follow the link at the top of the page to our Google Classroom and complete the Lesson 1 Quiz. This quiz is worth 15 points.
Required readings for this lesson:
Chandler, Adam. “Why Americans Lead the World in Food Waste.” The Atlantic, Atlantic Media Company, 15 July 2016, www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2016/07/american-food-waste/491513/.
Compost and Wheelbarrow image: https://www.google.com/url?sa=i&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=images&cd=&ved=2ahUKEwiX5OrczO_bAhWkOH0KHf47CxoQjRx6BAgBEAU&url=https%3A%2F%2Fextension.oregonstate.edu%2Fnode%2F81191&psig=AOvVaw0eM0BW8KmSykMCVB_tmOBb&ust=1530043055401056
Wasted Movie Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bdBi1LAOoek Landfill Poster: http://www.wastedfilm.com/downloads/