Search Climate Insights Directory

The Coalition to Re-Imagine School Waste, supported by a WWF Food Waste Warrior grant, established composting and food recovery pilots in Montgomery County, Maryland, and successfully lobbied for the 'Grant Program to Reduce & Compost School Waste' through large-scale postcard campaigns. The group aims to expand these sustainability efforts to 150-250 more schools in the 2023-24 school year.

From March 18-22, 2024, 257 students at Blue Hill Consolidated School in Maine participated in Seaweed Week, an educational initiative utilizing curricula from the Maine Aquaculture Innovation Center and WWF. The program combined literature, hands-on activities, and expert interaction to highlight kelp as a sustainable crop that supports marine ecosystems and provides economic opportunities for local lobstermen.

The document outlines the environmental costs of food production and waste, noting that 40% of total food production is wasted annually. It offers actionable tips for households and offices to minimize waste through better planning, storage, and composting, while promoting WWF's initiatives like the Food Waste Warrior Program for schools.

The Conservation in the Classroom series consists of free 45-minute virtual events featuring WWF experts who present on conservation-themed topics and conduct Q&A sessions. Events occur one to two times per month from September to June and are streamed on a dedicated webpage and the Wild Classroom YouTube channel. Participants can join as off-camera viewers or apply for limited on-camera guest spots for learners. To enhance the educational experience, WWF provides supplemental material packets containing warm-up questions, web stories, videos, lessons, Kahoot! games, and quizzes.

The document highlights that approximately 1.3 billion tons of food are wasted annually, contributing to greenhouse gas emissions and resource depletion. It offers consumer strategies for waste reduction, such as meal planning, proper storage, and composting, while promoting the WWF Food Waste Warrior Program for students.

The WWF's Food Waste Warrior curriculum uses student-led audits and wildlife-focused education to reduce food waste in U.S. schools. Piloted in Washington, D.C., the program emphasizes a hierarchy of prevention, donation, and diversion. Key findings include the effectiveness of student-led audits in reducing plate waste, the impact of on-site scratch cooking versus pre-packaged meals, and the barriers to food donation and composting in school settings.

The document serves as a guide for educators to integrate climate change and wildlife conservation into their curricula. It introduces the concept of "climate-smart conservation" and provides a specific four-factor framework for assessing species vulnerability. The guide encourages students to conduct their own species assessments and provides a comprehensive list of climate science resources and citizen science projects to foster active participation in environmental monitoring.

The document lists various communication outputs from 2020 to 2022, including news articles, social media campaigns, and educational resources focused on groundwater and water security in Cape Town, South Africa.

The report details the 'Water Disciples' programme, which integrated environmental education on groundwater with spiritual teachings for youth and faith communities in the Western Cape. Key activities included nature hikes to Table Mountain springs, community clean-ups in Nyanga and Athlone, and the development of educational materials for Sunday Schools. While COVID-19 hindered some planned collaborations and events, the project achieved significant reach through the World Council of Churches and the Diocese of Cape Town's Synod resolution on groundwater.

The Greenpop Foundation conducted a groundwater awareness campaign targeting Grade 4-7 learners in Cape Town to address gaps in the CAPS curriculum. The project utilized multimedia lessons, a poster competition, and field trips to educate students and teachers. Despite COVID-19 challenges, the project reached 2,568 learners across 13 schools, exceeding its reach target. Findings indicate that while initial groundwater awareness was very low, the intervention successfully increased knowledge, with teachers reporting high relevance and a desire for the campaign to become an annual event.