Te ine i ō tātou tukuwaro Counting our carbon emissions
The final lesson in the series that measures carbon dioxide emissions in a way that makes sense to a student's everyday travel. Raise awareness of the carbon we create and what changes we can make.
Akoranga takamua Before You Begin
Take a look at What’s the big deal about Climate change?
Understanding our individual carbon footprint as it relates to our everyday travel helps to make carbon emissions personal. Gathering data is part of this maths and stats inquiry and it also provides a starting point for conversations about changes that can be made individually, as a school, and more globally.
Teaching resource
About this resource
Students get to record their carbon emissions between home and school over a one-week period. They reflect on what this means over a longer period, how it has both an environmental and financial cost, and how active travel can reduce carbon emissions.
(630 KB, Pdf)Learning resources
Share this example
Ko aku haerenga: He tauira ine tukuwaro ā-wiki
My Trips: Weekly Carbon Counter
It shows the trips that Ash makes in a typical school week, eg: going from home to school, from school to sports practice, and so on. Ash used Trip Go to calculate the amount of CO2 for their transport. You will notice that when they walked, they used zero carbon. Ash added up the amounts for each day and recorded their total at end of the week. Ash is now aware of how much carbon they produce when travelling places.
Student worksheet
Ko aku haerenga: Ko te ine i aku tukuwaro
My Trips: Counting my Carbon
Let ākonga use the website Trip Goopen_in_new to work out their own carbon emissions of their journey to kura, and other trips they make during a school week. Alternatively, ask ākonga to calculate their personal carbon daily then add up at the end of the week.
(118 KB, Pdf)
(96 KB, Pdf)Supporting resources and links
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Climate Hero carbon calculatoropen_in_new Easy to use calculator, focused on individual efforts rather than systemic change |
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FutureFit carbon calculatoropen_in_new Auckland Council resource that lets students discover their impact on the climate |
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Wellington Region 2050 Emissions Calculatoropen_in_new What choices will see the biggest reduction in the Wellington Region’s emissions? What do we need to do in order to meet emissions targets? The Wellington Region 2050 Emissions Calculator lets you model changes within the Greater Wellington Region in order to forecast our future emissions. |
Future Curiousopen_in_new – provides relevant resources about climate change developed by a registered teacher based in New Zealand.
NZASE has a guide on Teaching climate changeopen_in_new, including how to address student anxiety.
Instructions – How to use Trip Goopen_in_new to calculate how much carbon gets used for each school trip:
- Type your home address and school address in the search boxes.
- Click on the green ‘route’ button.
- Find out how long each mode takes and the amount of carbon used. Record on the sheet.
Watch this video from Auckland Council: Climate change for students
(Auckland Council, 1:12 mins)
Active travel action, on our school travel webpage, contains classroom ideas and activities:
What's next?
Kōrero miramira Inspiring stories
Articles and links that share experiences from school communities and showcase student voices and actions in Aotearoa.
Related lessons
He aha rā te hirahira o te Āhuarangi Hurihuri? What’s the big deal about Climate change?
Three lessons that set the scene for teaching climate change, carbon emissions, the greenhouse effect and more. A series of hands-on lessons to capture the imagination of every student.
Teacher planning and development
We have linked resources from trusted organisations to help you to develop a programme across a range of curriculum areas. More to come!
On the go!
Auckland Transport has created six exciting lessons for years 7-8.
Ākonga will learn about climate change, road safety, and active travel.