Have you ever tried to help save the environment in a rural farming community where the school is the only facility that recycles and the nearest recycling center is 40 miles away? This is the large challenge we have endeavored to do for the last 2 years.
Our school is in the center of a small farming community in Wyoming where all teachers instruct both junior high and high school classes.
As a result, the school has a definite sense of community where teachers and students work together from 7th to 12th grade. This environment also allows students to be involved in a variety of activities. My students have been involved in volleyball, basketball, cheerleading, FCCLA, VICA, and drama. They try hard to do good things in their lives. I have been impressed all year as they have worked hard to make our recycling system work. They continually come into my room after a day of recycling and tell me the ideas and thoughts they have had, and how we could improve what we are doing. This is the kind of hardworking group I have, a group that can even find enjoyment in cleaning out plastic bottles! I know it will continue to be a fun year with this group!
My Project
Our overall goal is to increase the effectiveness of our recycling system. Currently, we use large textbook boxes for our recycling bins in the hall to recycle both aluminum cans and plastic bottles, while in most of the classrooms we use cardboard boxes for paper. This has worked fairly well for us, but our boxes have been falling apart from use and the some disuse of other students. As a class, we decided that we really needed to get a more permanent and lasting solution to this problem. We will be using these recycling bins as a substitute for our disintegrating cardboard boxes. Not only will it make our container much sturdier and liquid resistant, but it will also create a neater and cleaner atmosphere in our student hallway/commons area.
I feel like this project is important for one main reasons.
First it will help us complete our job of recycling better in our school. Schools use a significant amount of paper each day, and as a school recycling team, we are hoping to decrease the effect that has on the earth by promoting a more green way to live. I am hoping to encourage them in such a worthy endeavor.
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