Student activities - Ecological Footprint
How big is your Ecological Footprint?
Ecological Footprint is a tool which measures our ecological performance. It tracks how much individuals, organisations, cities, regions and nations, or humanity as a whole consumes and compares this amount to the resources nature can provide.
Calculating your Ecological Footprint can help you to identify the environmental impacts of your everyday activities.
Your Ecological Footprint is an indicator of the amount of land and water resources required to support your way of life, from the holidays you take to the food you buy. It estimates the land required to produce everything you consume, as well as the area taken up to dispose of your rubbish and the size of forest required to absorb the carbon dioxide emissions from your lifestyle.
The integration of Ecological Footprint into school curriculum is only limited by the time you have available.
Activities
The activities are best done sequentially:
- Calculating your Ecological Footprint
- The food component
- Are we getting too big for our home?
- Comparing footprints around the globe
- Does our footprint affect others? (extension)
- Ways to reduce my footprint
- Calculate your school's Ecological Footprint
For more information, visit the Ecological Footprint section of this website.
More activities
Check the student activities about unpacking the Living Planet Report 2006, life cycle thinking and water, energy and greenhouse gases.