Take The School Bus

What it is

Youth learn how transportation impacts pollution in the air by creating a bulletin board that raises awareness of an energy-saving alternative.

Why it matters

There are millions of cars on the road everyday, which creates an increase in harmful emissions affecting pollution, air quality and human health. When families opt for energy saving alternatives, such as bus transportation, this helps keep the air cleaner, reduces traffic around schools and contributes to protecting the environment. Whenever you go to school, sports practice, or a community event, you can help the planet by choosing transportation that reduces pollution.

Getting started

Time: 50 minutes

Grade level: 3–5

Materials:

• Take the School Bus Pledge Banner – see Facilitator Prep
• Materials for Step 3 (note you will select either option 1 or option 2) — a variety of craft supplies (several per group of 3–4), such as:
  • Scissors
  • Letter stencils
  • Colored paper
  • Shape templates or stencils, such as a bus or children
  • Or purchase a Back to School Bulletin Board Decoration pack
• For option 1 (bulletin board): a bulletin board
• For option 2 (small group trifolds): trifold poster boards – 1 per group of 3–4 people
• Earth On Us – Take the School Bus survey – 1 per person
• Writing utensils – 1 per person
• Optional: Take the School Bus stickers
• Optional Take the School Bus sign: Post this in your program space, or pass out copies to youth to post in various places to encourage others to make the “Take the School Bus” pledge!

Facilitator Prep:

• Youth will be signing the Take the School Bus Pledge Banner, so consider printing it out large, such as on an 11×17 piece of paper, or printing out multiple copies so that everyone has room to sign their names. Alternatively, you can reproduce your own banner on a large piece of butcher paper.
• For Step 3, select which option to facilitate—either have the large group work collectively to design a bulletin board, or have small groups of 3–4 each create a trifold poster board. If selecting the trifold option, consider pre-cutting any templates so groups have more time to spend planning and assembling.

Background

Every day, millions of families drive individually to school. That means more cars on the road, more gas burned, and more air pollution. But when students ride the school bus, one bus replaces many cars—saving energy and helping keep our air clean. Taking the school bus supports the EPA’s goals for reducing emissions and improving air quality by:

• Cutting down the number of cars on the road
• Saving fuel and reducing traffic
• Lowering greenhouse gas emissions
• Helping build healthy lifelong transportation habits

What to do

Step 1: Learn why it matters (5 minutes)

1. Explain that every day, millions of families drive individually to school. Ask youth what impact they think this could have on the environment.
2. Explain that more cars on the road means more gas burned, and more air pollution. But when students ride the school bus, one bus replaces many cars, saving energy and helping keep our air clean.
3. Try this:
   • Count how many cars arrive at your school drop-off area in one morning (or estimate how many come in a day).
   • For each car you count, place one pom-pom (or small object) into a bucket. Each pom-pom represents pollution from one car.
   • Now imagine how much cleaner the air would be if most students took the bus instead.

Step 2: See the science (5 minutes)

4. Cars release carbon dioxide and other pollutants into the air every time they run. Let’s visualize this! Ask youth, “How many people do you think fit on a school bus?” Then let them know that a typical school bus can fit around 40 kids.
5. Split youth into groups of 4 and have each person in the group count out 10 pom-poms and put them in one pile so they have 40 total. Explain that each pom-pom represents 2,000 grams of CO₂, which is about how much one car would emit driving 5 miles to school. If you do the math, that’s 80,000 grams of CO₂ (2,000 × 40 cars).
6. Now let’s imagine that all 40 people took the bus instead. One typical school bus emits 8,000 grams of CO₂ to drive 5 miles. Since each pom-pom represents 2,000 grams of CO₂, then the bus’s emissions equal 4 pom-poms. Have one person from each group put 4 pom-poms in a pile next to the pile of 40.
7. By taking the bus, that group of kids prevented around 72,000 grams of CO₂ from being emitted. That’s like saving about 8 gallons of gasoline from being burned, or letting 3–4 mature trees do a year’s worth of carbon-cleaning work. That means less pollution, less energy use, and cleaner air for our communities. Taking the bus is one of the easiest ways kids can make a difference.
8. Watch a short video, My Choice, Their Ride — Why School Buses Matter, about why buses help protect our environment.
9. Ask youth to turn and talk to someone next to them about how they travel to school and what they could do to reduce pollution.

Step 3: Create a bulletin board or a trifold display board (25 minutes)

10. We can make a “Take the School Bus” bulletin board or a trifold poster board to encourage others to take the pledge!
    • Option 1: Bulletin Board. If making a bulletin board, facilitate a discussion with youth as a large group first (5–10 minutes) about how they want to design their bulletin board.
      • Besides “Take the School Bus,” are there any other words/messages they want displayed to show why riding a school bus is better for the environment than individual car rides?
      • What images do they want to use? To help brainstorm, have them look at their supplies (templates, pictures, etc.). If youth are having trouble deciding, you may have to be the final vote to move things along.
      • Once the planning is done, split youth into groups of about 3–4 and give each group a task (e.g., cutting and/or coloring letters, cutting out pictures or templates, assembling pieces).
    • Option 2: Small Group Trifolds. If making trifold poster boards, first split the youth into groups of 3–4, and provide them with supplies. Then ask the small groups to make a plan for their trifold before assembling:
      • Besides “Take the School Bus,” are there any other words/messages they want displayed to show why riding a school bus is better for the environment than individual car rides?
      • What images do they want to use? (Note from the Facilitator Prep section that in this scenario, any letters or templates could be cut out beforehand to allow more time for creating their boards.)
      • Have them assemble their display boards.
    • Regardless of which option you chose, display the finished boards in a busy area so everyone can see their work and be inspired to ride the bus and help reduce pollution.

Step 4: Take the pledge (5 minutes)

11. Make your promise to the planet! Sign your name on the Pledge Banner (see Facilitator Prep for banner preparation suggestions) to show your commitment and receive your sticker. Display it proudly at school or during your event to inspire others to join the movement!
12. Go to EarthOnUs.org under Actions → Take the School Bus, and make the pledge!

Step 5: Take the survey (5 minutes)

13. Distribute the Earth On Us – Take the Bus survey for youth to take.

Step 6: Celebrate! (5 minutes)

14. Talk about it!
    • Besides taking the bus, what are some other ways that you can use to get around to the places you need to be?
    • When taking a bus isn’t an option, what else can you do to reduce your carbon footprint?
15. You’ve made a difference! Remember, by taking small actions, you can contribute to big impacts! By riding the school bus whenever you can, you’re reducing pollution and helping keep our communities cleaner and healthier. Keep it up and encourage your friends and family to do the same.

Take it further

Your voice can motivate others! Share your story at earthonus.org to inspire youth around the world. Your story will be featured on the Earth on Us website to inspire other youth! Consider including:

• Event details (date, location, number of participants)
• Pictures (e.g., completed survey forms, signed pledge banner, display boards, event pictures)
• A blog or summary about your event