Should you use sustainable activities only with certain age groups?
I was asked to facilitate a group activity for a group of over 65's and my first thought was gardening. So I turned up with my potting mix, shovels made out of recycled milk containers and we potted up some plants to add some colour to their environment. This went down well and everyone seemed to enjoy the activity and there was lots of participation and interaction.
My follow up activity the next week was to make bird feeders out of recycled milk containers so they could attract birds to their gardens at home and maybe sit and watch the birds feed from their window. This idea went down like concrete and I had many bird feeders left behind, they did not want to finish them and the rate of participation was very low, they seemed to only join in because they had to do something that afternoon.
They made comments about recycling and how it was a silly idea and they really didn't see what all the bother was about....so.... bad idea for the age group? Or is the concept of recycling a new generation idea that is being forced on all generations?
What are your thoughts...
Hi Jo,
ReplyDeleteI was surprised to read about the negative response to recylcing from teh over 65 age group to be honest! I hadn't thought about the influence taht society has had on us as we have grown up as a younger generation with recycling all around us.
Do you think that maybe this group didn't have the same attitude as us to recycling because perhaps they have less time left on this earth than us, therefore perhaps less incentive to look after it? (Controversial and highly unlikely but just a thought!)
Or maybe they just haven't had the same educational exposure as us to the value of recycling?
Hi Rach
ReplyDeleteI think maybe you are right about the older generation not being brought up with recycling like we are today. The four 'R's' probably are not 'meaningful' to them so they choose to ignore them.
I am about to disagree – strongly! I think that the over 70’s are generally more knowledgeable about reusing, recycling, repairing than the baby boomers or below. These people lived though a world war and a depression. Many have for parts of their life had to live very frugally. They generally are better at living within their means, saving before they buy, planning meals to ensure they use the stuff in the fridge and cupboards and don’t though it out, repairing, only buying if really needed etc.
ReplyDeleteI think the problem here is the usual one re any group activities, people engage in those activities that interest them, or that they need or want. But also I think there is another important factor one which increases in importance when reusing ‘things’ , that is that it need to be aesthetically pleasing to the eye(you need to be able to be proud of it) unless it has a functional short term purpose (e.g. seed pots) often these “things” are not intended for show.
I have made a bird feeder from a milk bottle but have not been able to put it in the tree, as by my eye it wasn’t going to be aesthetically pleasing I am sure others can think of other examples. I think one of the keys is to make sure the base product is transformed enough. So my challenge is how do we get really creative with recycling – what activities are most often successful (who for) or what are the really practical sustainable activities related to the persons needs that will engage them.
An example of “for need “- if you had a small group of people who heat their houses by an open fire you could run a few groups helping them gain their wood supply for the year – collecting dry cabbage tree leaves and bundling them up as fire starters, making paper logs, collecting pine cones finding a business that has give a way wood and cutting it, picking up wood off the beach etc.
Thank you for your response about the generation gap and recycling. I am not going to disagree with you as I have older family members who are very frugal and live very comfortably within their means. They enjoy their garden and making and repairing items for their home. I think the contrast is in what the generations below the over 60’s have been LED to believe is living sustainably. If we remember to put the recycling bucket out, we are being sustainable, but if we chuck a whole lettuce in the compost is it sustainable because we put it in the compost but have not bothered to eat it?? The nature of the modern world has us believing it is cheaper to buy a new product than have it repaired so is almost forcing this generation into dumping more waste that is not biodegradable into our landfills.
ReplyDeleteI think you are right about identifying the right activity for the age group and this will take some research but I feel in the end if, like you say, the product is aesthetically pleasing to the eye then a sense of pride and accomplishment will be attached to the end product. Personally I think it should be the older generation who are telling the world how they survived through the depression and wars as we could never believe or comprehend how they did it, but boy could we learn a thing or too!!!