ISB MS students speak out

At the start of the school year several ISB students along with other international schools of Bangkok went to an event held by the British Chamber of Commerce Thailand. Here the MS Green Panthers spoke about the benefits (environmental, health, and animal rights) of organic food. 4 students presented to an audience of other students and business men and women. Afterwards all who attended could come to our booth to try our blind taste test comparing organic milk and apples to non-organic milk and apples. The organic apples won by a landslide and the milk was closer, but the organic milk still came out on top.

Local Recycling Center Visit

I teach Environmental Stewardship 4 times a year and each class takes a trip to the local recycling center. They also have to take their own items to recycle. The kids get to keep the money they earn too. To stick with the 'green' side, we travel there by the neighborhood solar bus and we visit a village compost center too.

New Recycling Bins

Recently we have been receiving a lot of batteries to recycle. Our small containers could not handle the load, so our school staff painted this very eye pleasing recycling container for us.

Keep bringing in those items to recycle.

We no longer take juice boxes, but we still take:

1. Newspapers
2. Batteries
3. bottles/can
4. Ink jet cartridges
5. cell phones & their batteries
6. aluminum tabs (for artificial limbs)
   

Eco-mmercial Contest with TRUE Vision

For a few months now the Green Panthers have hosted an eco-mmercial contest. The idea was to have students make a short video about any environmental topic. There were 26 entries and the final winner was Jori T, a senior at ISB. Her video, "Would you leave your trash here?" was about making choices. Jori received 5000 baht from the Green Panthers and then Jori and I went to the TRUE studios to film a TV show about the contest and Green Panthers. I would like to thank TRUE Vision for allowing us to show the video and go on television. You can see some of the videos right here on this site, but to see more go to Youtube and type in isb green panthers.

Other videos include:

5 steps to make Bangkok Green

Reuse bags and bottles

Help the Planet

2nd grade eco all-star

Plastic bags

Ice Melting

Waterbottles

A planet for living

Impact of bottles

It's ok to hug a tree

Trash

Climate Change Visualizations in Google Earth

If you don't have Google Earth installed on your computer you should! Not only will you spend hours finding your home and other places you've been, but you will open a world of technological tools that helps visualize all kinds of things. Everything from the journeys of Odysseus to oil consumption graphs of every country super-imposed on the globe.

If you need to install it, click here.

Once you are a Google Earth user, keep up with new features and layers at this Google Earth blog. It's awesome.

In fact, from them, the Green Panthers would like to share with you a couple great visualizations of Climate Change using Google Earth. Here's their original post.

Download and run the two Google Earth files - one from the UK's Met Office and the other from the British Antartic Survey. You'll be impressed. Open the menus and you get specific stories about parts of the world and what they are going through as a result of climate change.

An example:

Over the next few decades cereal production in China is expected to hold up well, with a longer growing season in northern areas and the fertilising effect of elevated levels of CO2.But without improvements in agricultural technology, cereal production is predicted to decline over the second half of this century.

Here's just a screenshot of our side of the world and temperature change.

ISB Students unveil Eco-mmercials

ISB students in preparation for Earth Week coming up have made Eco-mmercials.

Check them out:

ISB ECO CHALLENGE

K-12 ECO CHALLENGE!!

Starting April 1st and going on until the end of Earth Week (April 25th) is the K-12 ECO CHALLENGE.
Each grade is competing within their school ( i.e. - 6, 7, & 8 competing in MS).
There are points for participating (P4P) and points for winning events.
Grade level with the most points will win the challenge and prizes (yet to be determined).
Individual with most points for the whole school will also win a prize (yet to be determined).
For more info on this go to isb-green-panthers.blogspot.com
First 4 challenges start April 1st. Beware of deadlines!

Prizes!


Prizes keep coming in but here's what we have so far:

• 2 free nights at an eco-tourism resort in Thailand
• A gift voucher worth 10000 baht
• Biodegradable eco bags
• Pencils made from recycled newspapers
• Eco stickers
• More to come…

EVENTS

April 1 - 9 Veggie recipes
P4P = 5
Winners = 25

Students enter veggie recipes before Earth Week.
Box placed in cafeteria to put in the recipes or email to kerryd@isb.ac.th
The 10 chosen entries earn 25 points each and free lunch for that student when we have “VEGGIE DAY” on Tuesday April 22.
Winners announced on Tuesday, April 22.
Deadline for entering recipes is April 9.

April 1 - 23 Eco survey
P4P = 5

Online Eco survey for you and your family to do.
isb-green-panthers.blogspot.com
Each legitimate entry is 5 points for you and your grade level.
Participation is the best way to get the most points. The more people you can get to participate the better you will do.

Click here to complete the survey.


April 1 - 23 Create a special day

P4P = 5
Winners = 25

Students can design their own special day. Think of a cause you believe in and design your special day around it. You have to state:
The name of the day
What it represents
What would we have to do on that day
Why are we doing it and how does it help?

Examples
Buy Nothing Day – reminds us of how we consume too much and ask us to go one day without buying anything.
No meat day – To show the impact eating meat has on the environment, our health, and animal rights. For one day we have only veggies on the menu.
Earth hour - reminds us to conserve energy by everyone turning off the lights for 1 hour at the same time.

You get the picture. Be creative and make up your own special day
Winners will have their Special Day put into next year’s ISB school calendar!!

April 21-25 Nokia Recycling Contest
P4P = 5
Winner = 25
Nokia has a mobile phone recycling program so they can collect all the nasty stuff inside a phone and do the right thing with it.
They also make eco phones!
Bring in your old phone (any brand) you no longer use to be recycled for 5 points.
If you have the oldest phone in the contest you will win a brand new Nokia Eco phone!

Monday, April 21 Motor-less Monday

P4P = 5
Students coming to school without a motor will get a sticker and 5 points
"Burn calories; not fossils. Ride your bike!"

Tuesday, April 22 Veggie Tuesday

P4P = 5
Winners = 25
Students entered veggie recipes before Earth Week.
Each entry is 5 points.
The 10 chosen entries earn 25 points each and free lunch for that student.

Tuesday, April 22 Race to Recycle


P4P = 1/item
Bring in as much stuff as you can to recycle. You get 1 point per item.
Items can only be:
cans (crushed please),
plastic bottles,
batteries,
plastic bags,
newspapers,
printer cartridges

Wednesday, April 23 Water Bottle Wednesday

P4P = 5
Students coming to school with ‘real’ reusable water bottle will get a sticker and 5 points for grade.
Also get 5 baht off any drink in main cafeteria!
‘Re-Think, Re-fill, Re-Drink, I will!’

Wednesday, April 23 Wall of Commitment


P4P = 5
Students have to honestly commit to 3 things they will do for the next month to help the environment. Cut out paper hand and write 3 things on it and stick it on the wall.


Thursday, April 24 Keen to be GREEN

P4P = 5
Winners = 25
How green you can be?
Wear a GP shirt, or go all out with a green get up.
Water bottle and eco bag are good accessories.
Make a dress out of recycled materials, or dress to send an eco message.
We will pick 3 best dressed.

Thursday, April 24 Concert 4 Climate Change

P4P = 100/class
P4P = 5 / person
Any class/group can participate by making a display, skit, poem, video, art work, dance, song, or use some other creative idea to get the eco message across.
It can be about any eco topic (an animal, global warming, saving water, organic food, turning off the power, etc)

Friday, April 25 Earth Fair

Guest speakers:
1. Bill Clinton Foundation
2. Tesco Lotus
3. Elephant Sanctuary

30 companies and NGO’s will participate to show what they are doing for the earth. There will be a lot of eco products such as solar water heaters, hybrid cars, reflective cooling paint, school supplies made from recycled newspapers, and more.

NGO’s will show what their program is all about and encourage kids to join!

We will have hands on activities for everyone to enjoy.