Student Worksheet

Thought-Starter: Does everyone in the world have access to the same things you do?

Part 1: What is our Environmental Footprint?

1. a. Write a definition of the term environmental footprint:

b. What do you think are the lifestyle factors that contribute the most to a environmental footprint?

2. Draw an outline of your footprint below. You then need to cut out pictures from magazines and newspapers or draw what things you think make up your footprint.

Part 2: Measure Your Impact

Instructions

1. You need to write down eight activities and record what resources are used. Activities may cover catching a bus, brushing teeth, getting dressed, eating lunch, and playing sport to name a few.

2. You also need to record what resources were used to undertake the activity. The resources include water, energy or waste produced.

3. You then need to estimate how much of the resource you used and write down the number 1, 2 or 3 in the usage boxes. Use the following guide:

Length of Activity	Usage	Score
Less than 10 minutes	Low	1
11 minutes – 1 hour	Medium	2
Over 1 hour	High	3

For example if you only had the television on for 30 minutes the resource used would be medium however if you had the television on for three hours it would be high. We have included an example below to get you started!

How do you rate?

10 -15 Friendly Flea

16 -20 Careful Kangaroo

21 -30 Dumping Dinosaur

Part 3: How could you improve your score?

What changes could you make to your daily activities at school and in the home to improve your score? Use the table below to write down ways of using less energy, using less water and making less waste.

Part 4: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples footprints - a historical perspective

Despite Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples having lived in Australia for at least 50,000 years, there is little evidence of an environmental footprint, other than where they managed country using fire. They had only a few belongings mostly consisting of tools, items of cultural importance, some clothing depending on how cold it was and woven bags and baskets. They owned few things that couldn’t be carried and consisted of items made from rocks, wood and from plant and animal materials. While they had few belongings they did have an extremely rich culture that had blossomed over the tens of thousands of years.

Think about the way we currently live compared with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples prior to colonisation.

Energy

How do we currently generate energy for things like heating and cooking?

Are you aware of any impacts of the ways that we currently generate energy?

How might this compare to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples prior to colonisation?

Waste

What types of waste do we create in our daily lives?

What might be some of the impacts of this waste? TIP: Think about the materials our waste is made from (e.g. plastic, metal or glass).

How might this compare to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples prior to colonisation?

Water

Where do we get our water from?

How do we currently carry our water around? What waste can this create?

How might this compare to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples prior to colonisation?

Reflection - what have you learnt?

1. What are the social, economic and environmental consequences of having a large ecological footprint?

2. Make a pledge to reduce your personal ecological footprint. Explain how you will take action to reduce your footprint.

AuSSI Ecological Footprint (Secondary)

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