“What we found really interesting about Glass Guardians is that it prompted the children to discover for themselves all the ways that glass can be reused. They really enjoyed researching the ideas”. Tamsin Nellist is Head of Infants for Years 1 & 2 at Ysgol Maes Y Felin primary school in Wales. She explains that while the children understood about the three ‘r’s – reduce, reuse, recycle, they didn’t really know much about how glass could be reused.
“The children enjoyed finding out that things like glass jam jars can find a new life as candle holders, vases and even bird feeders” says Tamsin.
“They loved the research element and all the practical exercises. She also says that the project booklets supplied to each class member helped give the children real ownership.
“We’ve done lots of posters, plus some tips and tricks to share with local businesses on how to make the most of reusing glass, so the impact of their learning has extended to the wider community too. We even had a visit from the local Mayor who was very impressed with what the children had done” she explains.
Glass Guardians is an initiative from British Glass and the National Schools Partnership created to educate children about the 100% recyclability and sustainability benefits of glass. The activity fitted perfectly into Ysgol Maes Y Felin’s theme for the year, which is simply ‘Our World’. The children decided to use the theme to focus on recycling and looking after the environment.
Tamsin believes that Glass Guardians helped give real purpose to their learning – and they are still keen to do more. “Our next activity is to write a letter to the local council asking that they install more glass banks as the children feel it is not always easy to find out where to recycle glass”
