A Grade 4/5 class at Clarksdale Public School in Burlington is helping the environment and limiting waste going into the landfill by recycling worn down and broken crayons and giving them new life.
Since April, teachers Kathryn Caughey and Kayley Haibach have been helping their students collect, melt and remold crayons to be re-used by other students in the school. Staff were tasked with the initiative to tidy and reorganize classrooms and common work areas in preparation for the next school year.
“When I saw the big tubs of crayons sit in our staff room for days on end, I was sad to think that they’d end up in a landfill just because they were broken and no longer desirable,” says Caughey. “That's where the idea to melt them popped into my head. I shared the idea with Kayley and she immediately offered to help. The project took off from there and we were able to include students from a variety of grades in both primary and junior.”
Students are tasked with collecting broken or worn down crayons, melting the crayons on a hot plate and then re-shaping them into various sizes using silicone molds. The class has recycled around 15-20 pounds worth of crayons - or 1,000 pieces of crayons - since starting the project.
“Students take great pride in knowing their efforts are supporting the learning and development of their younger peers in primary grades,” says Haibach, noting Principal Shelley Andrews has supported this project to see how it could benefit all students at Clarksdale PS.
Caughey and Haibach say the crayon project addresses several parts of the curriculum including art (primary and secondary colours, mixing colours); science (solids and liquids); mathematics (sorting by attributes); and health (Social Emotional Skills such as problem solving and building resilience when experiencing obstacles).
“This initiative allows educators at Clarksdale to integrate many areas of focus in the
HDSB’s 2020-2024 Multi-Year Plan into our daily practices,” says Haibach.
The activity connects to the the following areas of focus of the HDSB Multi-Year Plan:
- Environmental Leadership by helping create a sustainable world and increase local environmental initiatives and practices
- Equity & Inclusion whereby all students have the opportunity to participate and produce materials that create and promote a more equitable and positive learning environment for students
- Mental Health & Well-Being by allowing students to take risks, let off stress and explore new coping mechanisms in a safe environment
“This initiative has been in action since just after Earth Day. Our monthly school theme was ‘Be the Change’ for the month of April, which focused on not only being the change in the classroom, but also the environment,” says Caughey. “These students are our future leaders and so what better way to get them excited about caring for the environment and the planet we live on than to have them involved at school.”
