Waste Heroes for Schools

About this course

Waste touches every Nigerian school: litter in the compound, smoke from burning heaps, drains that flood in the rains and bottles that could have been sold. This course shows you how to teach it well over one term using the free Waste Heroes episodes and the Learn to recycle game, how to start and run a Waste Education Club, how to audit and sort waste safely with pupils, and how to run an honest school recycling project. It closes with safeguarding, measuring results and a ready term plan. It is written by Earthsavers, a working Nigerian recycling company that runs the Waste Education Club and the Waste Heroes pilot.

Who it's for: Teachers, head teachers, school club patrons, school administrators and NGO facilitators in Nigerian primary and junior secondary schools, public and private, who want to run waste education, a Waste Education Club or a school recycling project.

What you'll be able to do

• By the end you will be able to explain why waste education matters for health, flooding, clean air and value in Nigerian communities, and link it to the subjects you already teach.
• By the end you will be able to teach the eight Waste Heroes episodes across a term, with preparation, discussion and activities before, during and after each one, in English, Pidgin or Hausa.
• By the end you will be able to start and run a Waste Education Club, and lead a school waste audit and sorting station where pupils only do tasks that are safe for children.
• By the end you will be able to run a school recycling project that sells to a licensed recycler, keeps honest records, spends the money openly and never pressures children to collect waste or work.
• By the end you will be able to protect pupils' safety and privacy, involve parents and the community, measure results with simple numbers and share them honestly.

Course outline

1. Module 1: Why waste education matters in Nigerian schoolsAbout 10 minutes
   1. What waste costs a school and its community
   2. Linking waste education to the curriculum
   3. Check your understanding
2. Module 2: Teaching with the Waste Heroes episodesAbout 10 minutes
   1. Planning the term and choosing a language
   2. Before, during and after each episode
   3. Check your understanding
3. Module 3: Running a Waste Education Club and safe sortingAbout 10 minutes
   1. Starting and running the club
   2. A safe school waste audit and sorting station
   3. Check your understanding
4. Module 4: School recycling projects, the game and the communityAbout 10 minutes
   1. Collection drives and earning honestly
   2. The Learn to recycle game, parents and the community
   3. Check your understanding
5. Module 5: Safeguarding, results and your term planAbout 10 minutes
   1. Safeguarding and child protection
   2. Measuring, sharing results and a term plan
   3. Check your understanding

Standards and frameworks covered

• NERDC 9-Year Basic Education Curriculum (Basic Science and Technology, Social Studies and Civic Education, and their environment themes)
• National Policy on Education (NERDC)
• Compulsory, Free Universal Basic Education Act 2004
• National Policy on Solid Waste Management
• National Policy on Plastic Waste Management
• UNESCO Education for Sustainable Development: Towards achieving the SDGs (ESD for 2030)
• Sustainable Development Goals 4.7 (education for sustainable development) and 12 (responsible consumption and production)
• Child Rights Act 2003
• UN Convention on the Rights of the Child
• ILO Conventions 138 (Minimum Age) and 182 (Worst Forms of Child Labour)
• Nigeria Data Protection Act 2023