Sustainability Superheroes is giving you a special look into the world of sustainable manufacturing! Today, we’re featuring Peter Cirak, Director of Quality Assurance with Seal Dynamics. Located in Tampa, FL, this global distributor reverse engineers aircraft parts to maintenance repair facilities worldwide and even airlines like Delta and Southwest! They have stocking locations in the United States, United Kingdom, Dubai, and Singapore. 

A massive, global company comes with big responsibilities for the planet. How does a large manufacturer like this handle sustainability issues and plan a more environmentally-friendly future? Peter Cirak tells us about Seal Dynamics’ sustainability concerns, current initiatives, and plans for a greener tomorrow!

He says, “We take all that cardboard and shred it in such a way to be used as dunnage.” Dunnage is a material used to secure products during the shipment process. “We take that leftover cardboard and use shredders that recycle that cardboard to use as dunnage.” This tactic is much more sustainable than using something like styrofoam, which is tough to recycle and is actually the worst type of plastic!

“Finding new uses for things that become obsolete is something that we can even do at home! We take full advantage of this at our facility,” says Peter. Seal Dynamics is living up to the three R’s of the environment: Reduce, Reuse, Recycle. How can you find new uses for items at home?

One of the largest costs of Seal Dynamics is energy consumption, and they plan to find new ways to cut down on using less electricity. The company is aiming to move and make some upgrades in the future. Peter says he will push to create a more sustainable energy source! He says, “The nice thing about sustainable energy initiatives is that the infrastructure can be placed in such a way where it can handle hurricanes, and this way, you’ve got your own energy source during power outages.” Sustainability is indeed a double-edged sword in a good way!

Peter concluded the interview with an important message for students. He says, “For students going through education right now, people like myself are looking for you to come into the workforce with a passion for sustainable efforts.” Sustainable education is truly the pathway for the future!

Now it is your turn! Conduct some research to learn more about sustainable forms of energy. You can start with some of the resources from our workshop on sustainable energy. What are some energy-saving ideas you could give to Peter? What are some future solutions that Seal Dynamics could implement? 

After reading about Peter Cirak's work or watching the videos, take this quiz and find out if you've got what it takes to be a sustainable superhero! If the quiz does work on this page, you can also take it here.

Tampa, Fla. – Over 60 K-12 educators from school districts across the state attended a Sustainability Superheroes webinar focused on incorporating responsible decision making and social emotional learning to help students use critical thinking and solve global sustainable issues.

The webinar was hosted by Deborah Kozdras and Angel Danger of the USF Stavros Center, who have both worked diligently to construct this online workshop and continue to plan much more for the future. The theme for this webinar was saving endangered species. Teachers learned how to use various educational books and videos to form lesson plans through some of the latest technology that makes distance learning a breeze for both teachers and students.

The Great Kapok Tree, by Lynne Cherry, is a wonderful children's book that can be used to teach about decision-making and sustainability. It is also a book that makes us think about the human impact on the environment. In the text, a lumberjack is sent to cut down the Great Kapok Tree. After he works for a while, he gets tired and takes a nap below the tree. While he is sleeping, the different animals whisper in his ear about how the tree satisfies their needs and wants.

At the end of the tale, an anteater whispers, "What happens tomorrow depends upon what you do today." This is a perfect phrase to discuss sustainable economic development. If the forest is destroyed, what do we lose? What goods are provided by the Amazon and other forests? How do the animals, plants, and other living things cooperate in an ecosystem of producers and consumers? How can we better preserve these natural resources so we can continue to enjoy the many gifts they provide?

Check out the interactive Nearpod activity we created. Go to Nearpod.com   and download the lesson into your Nearpod library with this editable link.   

Now learn more about endangered species in the links below. Choose one animal to research and write a persuasive text about the importance of preserving the species. 

Join us in the #SSRethinkTank for an entrepreneurial thinking activity that begins with an image. This activity has three steps: 1) See (ask descriptive questions), 2) Think (ask analytic and evaluative questions to define what is broken), and 3) Rethink (use design thinking to consider solutions to the problem). With these activities, we can help students to identify, critique, and provide solutions to some of the sustainability problems that exist in the world. 

These activities can be used as bell ringers or they could inspire deeper analysis and evaluation by using the resources in Part 2. 

Part 1

1) What do you see? In this step, show the image and tell students to provide you with evidence they see. This step isn't about inferences or opinions. That comes in the next step. You can also guide students through some descriptive questions (what, who, where, and when). 

• What kind of image is this?
• What do you see in the image?
• Who might have created the image?
• Where is it taken?

2) What do you think? In this step, students make inferences and analyze the photo. Ultimately, this is a step where students think critically to identify a problem. The first level this step is to inspire students to use what they see and ask analytical questions that are inspired by the question: What do you think? Encourage the students to think deeper by asking how and why questions. 

• Why do you think the person took this photo?
• How did the monkey get the plastic bottle?
• How can this cause a problem?

3) Rethink! After the analysis phase, we work on an evaluation by asking: What is broken? After defining the problem, engage students in a rethink activity, where they use entrepreneurial thinking to create change. Tell students: "After you define what is broken, get in the Rethink Tank and design a solution. What would you do differently?"
​Here are some questions you can use to help guide their rethinking:

• Reduce: How can we reduce our use of plastic bottles?
• Reuse: What can we reuse?
• Recycle: How can we recycle?
• Repurpose: How can we repurpose plastic waste?
• Redesign: How can we redesign the system so we don't have plastic trash in the forest?
• Reimagine: How can you reimagine a world full of people who care about endangered species?

Part 2
Here are some resources you can use to learn more about endangered species.  After reading through the information, make a personal pledge or design a sustainable solution to some of the problems faced by endangered species. Share your ideas with us on social media: @usfstavros (Facebook, Twitter, Instagram)

Recycle Bins
This Recycle Bins decision-making lesson involves students "working" as consultants for a movie theater, engaged to make a decision about the best place to locate new recycling bins. This interactive Nearpod activity below hits Florida science standards in 1-3, but can be adapted to other grade levels for ELA and Social Studies. Here is the editable link so you can download the activity to your Nearpod account and edit it to suit your needs.

We have also created a full lesson plan that includes student guides, videos, and informational texts you could use to supplement the Nearpod lesson. 

After your students complete the lesson, they can create a meme to encourage others to recycle. You can use an online meme generator; however, there are often inappropriate memes that show up in these. An alternative is to use PowerPoint to create the meme and export the slide as a .jpg. You can also use the free Chatterpix app. Chatterpix is an app that allows you to take a photo of anything, add a mouth, and have it speak. You can also add text and make your own talking meme! Download this app to a mobile device:

• Google Play Download 
• App Store 

Join us in the #SSRethinkTank for an entrepreneurial thinking activity that begins with an image. This activity has three steps: 1) See (ask descriptive questions), 2) Think (ask analytic and evaluative questions to define what is broken), and 3) Rethink (use design thinking to consider solutions to the problem). With these activities, we can help students to identify, critique, and provide solutions to some of the sustainability problems that exist in the world. 

These activities can be used as bell ringers by using Part 1, or they could inspire deeper analysis and evaluation by using the resources in Part 2. 

Part 1

1) What do you see? In this step, show the image and tell students to provide you with evidence they see. This step isn't about inferences or opinions. That comes in the next step. You can also guide students through some descriptive questions (what, who, where, and when). 

• What kind of image is this?
• What do you see in the image?
• Who might have created the image?
• Where is it taken?

2) What do you think? In this step, students make inferences and analyze the photo. Ultimately, this is a step where students think critically to identify a problem. The first level this step is to inspire students to use what they see and ask analytical questions that are inspired by the question: What do you think? Encourage the students to think deeper by asking how and why questions. 

• Why do you think the person took this photo?
• Why is this a problem?
• How did the trash get on the shore?

3) Rethink! After the analysis phase, we work on an evaluation by Recognizing the problem and asking: What is broken? After defining the problem, engage students in a rethink activity, where they use entrepreneurial thinking to create change. Tell students: "After you define what is broken, get in the Rethink Tank and design a solution. What would you do differently?"
​Here are some questions you can use to help guide their rethinking:

• Reduce: How can we reduce our use of disposables?
• Reuse: How can we reuse this material?
• Recycle: How can we recycle?
• Repurpose: How can we repurpose garbage?
• Reimagine: How can we reimagine the ways in which we dispose of our trash? 
• Re-educate: How can we help to change the behavior of people who litter?
• Redesign: How can we redesign the system so we don't have trash on the shore?
• Rewrite: How can we rewrite some of the regulations and laws around litter and garbage?

Part 2
Here are some resources you can use to learn more about garbage. Learn about the garbage barge that inspired the beginnings of recycling. Some people make a living by recycling trash! Did you know that people can make energy out of trash? After reading through the information, make a personal pledge or design a sustainable solution. Share your ideas with us on social media: @usfstavros (Facebook, Twitter, Instagram)

Welcome to our new series of elementary interactive decision-making lessons. This lesson involves making decisions about choosing wildflowers and reading the children's book: Please Please the Bees by Gerald Kelly. 
Before Reading: Ask students to look at the image and make a prediction about how a bear, bees, honey, and wildflowers might go together in a story. Encourage students to ask questions about the relationships in the image. 

During Reading:
Here are some Read Aloud Think Aloud questions to use with the story. Possible stopping points are listed to use with the embedded video below.

1. Stop at :40 and ask: What were Benedict Bear's wants? What goods did he like?
2. Stop at 1:17 and ask:  What was the problem?  Why do you think the bees went on strike?
3. Stop at 2:24 and say: Flowers are a natural resource that bees use to make honey. What flowers should Benedict Bear plant? 
4. Stop at 2:37 and ask: What work did the bees do before they went on strike?
5. Stop at 3:10 and ask: What tools and equipment did Benedict Bear need to do his work?
6. Stop at 3:56 and ask: How did Benedict and the bees trade goods and services? What goods did Benedict like? What services did the bees provide? 

After Reading:
​1) What was real in this story? What was not real? Now read the Once Upon a Bee-conomy to explore and learn more about the connections with Benedict Bear, the bees, honey, and wildflowers!

2) Next, we have created two interactive decision-making lessons in Nearpod.
Here is the editable link ​​ for the first lesson, which is appropriate for K-2. If you start your own free Nearpod account, you can edit the lesson to serve your needs. ​Otherwise, you can use the embedded lessons below as activities, as if you were showing a PowerPoint. 

Picking Wildflowers
The Picking Wildflowers activity is appropriate for grades upper elementary and middle school students. Here is the editable link ​.

More Resources:
Here is a collection of more resources to use with this topic. Enjoy exploring and creating some exciting investigations with your students!

Join us in the #SSRethinkTank for an entrepreneurial thinking activity that begins with an image. This activity has three steps: 1) See (ask descriptive questions), 2) Think (ask analytic and evaluative questions to define what is broken), and 3) Rethink (use design thinking to consider solutions to the problem). With these activities, we can help students to identify, critique, and provide solutions to some of the sustainability problems that exist in the world. 

These activities can be used as bell ringers or they could inspire deeper analysis and evaluation by using the resources in Part 2. 

Part 1

1) What do you see? In this step, show the image and tell students to provide you with evidence they see. This step isn't about inferences or opinions. That comes in the next step. You can also guide students through some descriptive questions (what, who, where, and when). 

• What kind of image is this?
• What do you see in the image?
• Who might have created the image?
• Where is it taken?

2) What do you think? In this step, students make inferences and analyze the photo. Ultimately, this is a step where students think critically to identify a problem. The first level this step is to inspire students to use what they see and ask analytical questions that are inspired by the question: What do you think? Encourage the students to think deeper by asking how and why questions. 

• Why do you think the person took this photo?
• How did the bottle get into the water?

3) Rethink! After the analysis phase, we work on an evaluation by asking: What is broken?
After defining the problem, engage students in a rethink activity, where they use entrepreneurial thinking to create change. Tell students: "After you define what is broken, get in the Rethink Tank and design a solution. What would you do differently?"
​Here are some questions you can use to help guide their rethinking:

• Reduce: How can we reduce our use of plastic bottles?
• Reuse: What can we reuse?
• Recycle: How can we recycle?
• Repurpose: How can we repurpose plastic waste?
• Redesign: How can we redesign the system so we don't have plastic in the ocean?

Part 2
Here are some resources that you can use to help students learn more about the problems as they create solutions by rethinking!