There are six workshops on recycling and citizenship, as shown below. Click on the i for more information on each workshop.

• Students are shown an extended version of the assembly power point. They then play “What’s it made of?” This involves passing around a variety of interesting objects made from recycled materials. Once they have seen them all, they have to try and match up the answer cards with the correct object. Students are usually fairly surprised by some of the answers!
• The second activity is “How Green is Your House”. Students work in groups to spot the differences between the rooms of two houses. The colourful drawings depict an “eco” and a “non-eco” house. Each group then has to share some of the ideas they’ve seen from their room with the rest of the class.
• The session ends up with students thinking about what they can change to become greener.

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• Students look at a variety of packaging and discuss the reasons why we need it. They then play a card sorting activity.
• The students work in groups to put some typical packed lunch items into order from good to bad according to their packaging. Groups then take it turns to explain their decisions.
• By the end, students should have a good idea of how to reduce, re-use and recycle as much rubbish from their own lunch as possible.

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• Students work in groups looking at the different ways that food can be packaged. They consider the amount and recyclability of the materials used to make the different kinds of packaging and decide which one is most environmentally friendly.
• They then think about the reasons why manufacturers choose to use the other, less environmentally friendly, types of packet.
• We go on to discuss who we think is responsible for reducing the amount of packaging waste generated in the UK; the government, industry or the consumer.
• The workshop also encourages students to take responsibility for the products that they buy, thinking about where the materials came from and how they will be disposed of.

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• Students take part in a role-play in which they assume the opinions of different characters taking part in a council meeting. They will need to use their imagination to consider other people's experiences and be able to think about, express, explain and critically evaluate the views of their character.
• They will have to put forward “their” points of view about a proposed waste disposal site and whether the land should be used for landfill, incineration or a recycling centre.
• Students work in pairs and are given information in a power point and on info sheets about the possible options for the site.
• They have about 15 minutes to reflect on the information and decide on the opinion of their character before the role-play begins.

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• A power point presentation introduces students to the motion “People should pay for waste disposal according to the weight of rubbish they produce.” Students are then provided with a range of sources of information on “Pay as you Throw” schemes.
• In two teams they have to formulate arguments for or against the motion. They can then express, justify and defend orally their opinion about the problem. Students get to contribute to group and exploratory class discussions in the form of a debate.

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• Students are transported forward in time to the year 2100. Scientists have just unearthed an old landfill site. They have put some of the artefacts from the find into large test-tubes.
• The students are given these as evidence and have to match them to the “present” situation. For example, excessive use of plastic 100 years ago has led to it being a rare and expensive material in 2100.
• Students put together a big jigsaw to show how actions in 2006 affect people in 2100. They then decide on messages to send back to the year 2006 so that people realise the importance of taking responsibility of their waste.

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• Geography - click here
• Science - click here
• Design - click here

The SWAP team is based at the Carymoor Environmental Centre near Castle Cary. This unusual site is Somerset's first Eco-Centre , and is built on a capped, recovered landfill site. It is situated next to the working landfill at Dimmer, putting the team in a unique position to explain and promote these themes in schools. Site visits and tours are also available by arrangement; please contact Graham Jennings on 01963 350786.

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