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B. Natural Resources Around the World: Use and Sustainability · Natural Resources Around the World: Use and Sustainability

My Action Plan for Sustainable Resource Use

B1.4 B2.6 B1About 45 minutes
Learning goals
  • I can create a personal plan of action to help make resource use more sustainable.
  • I can set specific, realistic goals and measure my progress.
  • I can share my plan in a way that encourages others.

Words to know

action plan
A step-by-step plan of what you will do, how, when and how you'll know it worked.
goal
Something specific you want to achieve.
reclaimed
Saved and reused from something old, like wood from an old barn.
carbon footprint
The amount of greenhouse gases released because of a person's or group's activities.
advocacy
Speaking up and encouraging others or decision-makers to make a change.
reflection
Thinking back on what you did, what worked and what you would change.

Hook: what can one person do?

You've learned about huge issues: rainforests, fisheries, energy for whole countries. It's normal to wonder, What can I possibly do? The answer: more than you think. Your choices, your voice, and the people you influence all add up. And you don't need to do everything, just something, consistently.

Ideas for action

Use less

  • Repair, reuse, borrow and share before buying new.
  • Choose items that last, and buy used clothes, books, sports gear.
  • Turn off lights and electronics; put on a sweater instead of turning up the heat.

Choose wisely

  • Look for FSC, MSC, ENERGY STAR and Fairtrade labels.
  • Choose reclaimed or used wood for projects.
  • Use a refillable water bottle when tap water is safe.

Get around differently

  • Walk, bike, take transit or carpool.

Speak up (advocacy)

  • Ask your school to start a repair café, a clothing swap or a waste-free lunch day.
  • Write a respectful letter or email to a local council member about a local issue.
  • Share what you learned with family and friends.

Learn and care for local land

  • Join a tree planting, shoreline clean-up or invasive-species pull with a group.
  • Learn about the First Nations, Métis or Inuit stewardship of the land where you live, from the communities' own sources.
A bicycle parked beside a park bench has a metal water bottle and a cloth bag full of fresh vegetables in its basket.
Small choices add up: biking instead of driving, a refillable bottle and a reusable bag all use fewer resources. Which could go in your action plan? AI-generated image

Make goals SMART

A good goal is Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant and Time-bound.

Weak: I'll use less energy. Strong: For four weeks, I will turn off my bedroom light and unplug my game console every time I leave the room, and I'll track it on a chart each day.

SSpecificturn off my bedroom light and unplug my game consoleMMeasurabletrack it on a chart each dayAAchievabletwo simple actions I can really doRRelevantit saves energy, the issue I care aboutTTime-boundfor four weeksWeak goal: "I'll use less energy." Strong goal: all five letters!
The strong goal from the tip, letter by letter. A SMART goal says exactly what, how you will measure it, and for how long.
Worked example

Let's build an action plan

Amira, age 12, wants to help forests after learning about deforestation. Help her build an action plan.

  1. Choose the issue and why: Forests matter for habitat, clean water and climate. Paper and wood products use trees.
  2. Set a SMART goal: For one month, cut the paper towels and new paper she uses at home by half, and get her family to choose FSC-labelled paper products.
  3. List actions: use cloth towels; write on both sides of paper; reuse scrap paper for notes; show her family the FSC label on the next shopping trip.
  4. Measure: count how many paper towel rolls the family uses in a month, before and during the plan.
  5. Advocate: make a short poster for her classroom about the FSC label.
  6. Reflect: at the end of the month, compare results and decide what to keep doing.

Amira's plan has an issue, a SMART goal, specific actions, a way to measure, an advocacy step, and a reflection. That makes it realistic and trackable.

1. Issueforests2. SMART goalhalf the paper towels, 1 month3. Actionscloth towels, both sides4. Measurecount rolls before and during5. AdvocateFSC poster for class6. Reflectkeep what workedAmira's plan to help forests, one step at a time.
Amira's action plan in six steps. After reflecting, she can set a new goal and start again.
Just for fun

A SMART goal: Turn off the lights when I leave a room, for four weeks. A not-so-SMART goal: Never use electricity again, starting now (typed on a phone).

Hands-on activity

Write and launch your action plan

You need: paper or a notebook, a calendar.

  1. Issue: Choose one resource issue from this unit that matters to you. Write two sentences on why.
  2. Goal: Write one SMART goal.
  3. Actions: List 3 to 5 specific things you will do.
  4. Measure: Decide how you'll track progress (a chart, counting items, checking a meter or bill with a grown-up).
  5. Advocacy: Plan one way to share your learning with others (a poster, a talk at dinner, a message to your school).
  6. Start today and track for two to four weeks.
  7. Reflect: What worked? What was hard? What will you keep doing?

Look for: a clear SMART goal, actions that match the goal, a real way to measure, and an honest reflection.

Your turn

1

What is an action plan?

2

What does SMART stand for?

3

Make this goal SMART: I'll waste less food.

4

Give one way to advocate for sustainable resource use.

5

Why is measuring important in an action plan?

6

Name one action that helps forests and one that helps fish.

7

Why should a plan include reflection?

More practice: warm-up

1

Is "walk to school twice a week this month" specific?

2

Name one way to use less energy at home.

3

What is a reclaimed material?

4

What label shows sustainable seafood?

5

Give one way to get around that burns no fuel.

More practice: on your own

1

Why is "save the planet" not a good goal for an action plan?

2

How could you measure a goal of using less electricity at home?

3

Why might an action plan work better if your family is involved?

4

Suggest one action that connects to a lesson about mining.

5

What should you do if your plan turns out to be too hard?

Challenge

1

Explain how a personal action can connect to a global resource issue. Use one example.

2

Some people say individual actions are too small and only big changes by governments and companies matter. How could your action plan respond to this?

3

Write a complete mini action plan (goal, two actions, measurement, advocacy step) for reducing plastic use.

Check your understanding

Quiz

1.

Which goal is SMART?

2.

What is advocacy?

3.

Which action best reduces demand for newly mined metals?

4.

Why should an action plan include a way to measure progress?

5.

Which is a reflection question?

6.

Which choice helps forests?

For parents and teachers

How to help: Support your child's plan by taking part. Many actions (shopping, heating, transportation) are family decisions. Help them measure progress honestly, and celebrate effort, not perfection.

Keep it hopeful: Environmental topics can cause worry. Emphasize that many people and groups are working on solutions and that small, steady actions matter.

Safety: Clean-ups and tree plantings should be done with an organized group or a grown-up. Wear gloves and never pick up sharp objects.

Common difficulties:

  • Goals that are too vague or too big. Help narrow them.
  • Forgetting to measure. Set up a simple chart on the fridge.
  • Giving up when a goal is hard. Adjusting a plan is part of the process.