Marketing & Communications

Novelis, Discovery Education Launch New Program to Inspire the Next Generation of Recyclers

Aluminum roller and recycler Novelis has teamed up with digital content provider Discovery Education on an all-new aluminum recycling education program, "Life of a Can - A Never Ending Story." The program is intended to empower students to make a positive environmental impact through standards-aligned lesson plans and interactive classroom activities focused on Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM).

By Sustainable Brands | Published 8 years ago | About a 3 minute read

Aluminum roller and recycler Novelis has teamed up with digital content provider Discovery Education on an all-new aluminum recycling education program, "Life of a Can - A Never Ending Story." The program is intended to empower students to make a positive environmental impact through standards-aligned lesson plans and interactive classroom activities focused on Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM).

Life of a Can is designed to reinforce the importance of aluminum recycling, encourage environmental stewardship, and encourage classrooms to implement recycling programs of their own. Available at no cost, the new online platform offers interactive classroom activities, at-home family resources, and a video vignette featuring national hockey league defenseman, Stanley Cup Champion and “eco-athlete,” Andrew Ference.

“Discovery Education is proud to partner with Novelis on this nationwide effort to engage students in the importance of our environment and the critical role they can each play to protect and preserve our planet,” said Lori McFarling, a senior vice president at Discovery Education. “Life of a Can illuminates the core STEM applications utilized in the recycling process, and empowers educators with dynamic digital resources to inspire their students in the exploration of the earth's natural resources.”

The downloadable classroom activities are designed to complement upper elementary teachers’ existing lesson plans, explore the unique properties of aluminum, and emphasize key STEM, critical-thinking and problem-solving skills for students focused on environmental subjects like sustainability, manufacturing and product lifecycles. Life of Can lessons ask students to reflect on their own contribution to trash, strategize how they can improve their current practices and understand the environmental benefits of aluminum recycling.

“As an educator, I'm thrilled to have these resources to engage my students in sustainability topics and give them an in-depth look at the aluminum recycling process,” commented Brandon Wislocki, a fifth grade teacher at Stonegate Elementary School in California. “I look forward to integrating the Life of Can lesson plans and activities into my classroom instruction to reinforce STEM skills utilized in environmental careers, and creating a new recycling program for my classroom.”

The program’s family extensions encourage students to share their classroom learnings with family members through activities and discussion starters that inspire insightful conversations about aluminum and the recycling process. Students will take home a scavenger hunt that illustrates how they can be powered by the energy saved from aluminum recycling. The video with Ference, “What’s One Can,” drives home the importance of recycling, how recycling saves energy, investigates everyone's impact on the environment, and details how all students' can be champions for the environment.