Sixth
graders at Sailorway Middle School are in the process of establishing an
"EcoClub.” The club will meet once a week at lunch. This is a student-led
group, which includes a student facilitator, recycling station managers, Food
Waste Reducers, Staff Assistants, and progress monitors who weigh, and chart
food waste at SMS.
One of the things this group is
trying to accomplish is reduce the amount of food being wasted and thrown away,
so as students are clearing their places, they are encouraged to donate any
sealed food items they have left that would otherwise be thrown in the trash. The
staff assistants take the donations of recovered non-perishable food items out
to staff cars on Tuesdays and Thursdays to be donated to the Vermilion Food
Pantry.
Currently, the focus of the club
is to help reduce cafeteria waste as much as possible. However, the students
have expressed a strong interest in expanding the scope of the program to
include school and community clean-up efforts, and are hoping to extend SMS'
recycling beyond the cafeteria into classrooms and hallways.
Students voted on a name for
their club (Planet Eco) and are currently designing a logo to include on
cafeteria aprons and t-shirts which they will be able to purchase, thanks to a
generous donation from the Vermilion Education Foundation.
According to Sheila Greene, the
school has been recycling for years, but there was clearly room for
improvement. Greene shared that assistant principal Beth Bartlome wanted to
find a way to get the students involved in a relevant way, which is what
inspired the creation of this club. When asked, Greene said that this year it
is only for 6th graders, but if successful, it may be expanded to
other grades in the future.
This start-up group consists of
student volunteers, with resource assistance from staff members including
Sheila Greene, Beth Bartlome, Laura Wheeler and Shawna Stillman. These kids are truly making a difference in
their school, and in their community.
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