After speaking at length with Joe, our custodian, several other staff members, and Eco-Cycle, students came up with the following problem statement this quarter:
New Vista High School Students (and others) buy excessively packaged products and do not know proper disposal methods. This leads to large amounts of trash that could either be recycled, composted, or eliminated altogether. In addition improper recycling can send entire loads of recyclable materials to the landfill.
This is the tentative schedule for their action project week March 2-6.
Schedule of Events:
· Monday, March 2nd, 2009: Posting of 3D recycling signs and seminars on bulk buying (in selected advisories)
· Tuesday, March 3rd, 2009: Direct outreach, students stationed at trash cans and recycle bins.
· Wednesday, March 4th, 2009: “Bring your own mug” coffee day. (free coffee/tea but only if you have a mug!)
· Thursday, March 5th, 2009: Dumpster trash audit and “ask an expert.”
· Friday, March 6th, 2009: Clean up the Neighborhood—tackling non-point source pollution.
Aleyna Porreca
Action project week really is almost here. I think we’ve made alot of progress. The project has really come together and we are pretty ready for an awesome week ahead. We have alot of stuff to cram into just one week but I feel like with the work we are doing the project is going to continue on throughout the year and really affect the school in a positive way. I’m excited to see how it turns out. I think it’s going to be great.
Olive
It really is wonderful that we’re doing it because it’s such an important think to teach about…WE DON’T NEED TO BE USING SO MUCH STUFF!!! I hope that we can inspire people to just ‘get it’. I think it’s a really important need at our school, and I think a lot of people don’t recycle and don’t reuse because they don’t KNOW and don’t really SEE it as an option to consider. I feel like once we can demonstrate it and make it known, it will just ‘click’ with a lot of people. I also feel like in order to make it ‘click’ requires serious and authentic face-to-face conversations with our peers about this reality, and that is why the direct outreach idea is so important. Just today I saw a girl put a plastic cup with coffee in it in the recycling. Fortunately it had a lid, and I knew the girl, so I was able to dig it out and tell her how contamination takes recycling straight to the landfills. She was actually interested to know that she couldn’t put that in with the recycling, and I think she CARES..but just didn’t know. It was a cool experience. This is why our project is so important…because A lot of people that care about the massive waste that goes on here just don’t realize how to help in the simplest ways. I’m psyched for this project.
PEACE!
Keelan Sears
well i hope this is the one i was supposed to comment on. but im psyched! the upcoming camping trip is gonna be awesome, and action project week sounds like it is going to be loads of fun too. this class has been a great experience so far and im excited for more!
Will
Im stoked for the action project, and for action project week. I think that we have pulled it together well at the end, and that action project week will have a big impact, and educate the students on recycling and composting. I am also ready for the trash audit, and the free coffee (if we are aloud to do it.) Thank you to all of the CAP class, and to Paige and the Cottonwood Institute for giving us the chance to do something with the environment that we truly care about!
Will Barrett
Brynn Reiff
Sorry I didn’t comment earlier, but I have had a lot of different things going on the last few days. So far the action week has been going moderately well. The only problem is the timing. Between the CSAP and the nice weather, people aren’t spending much time inside. I think that the trash audit will go well if its outside, and it should be much easier to convince people to help clean up the area around the school now as compared to when it was averaging 30 degrees out.
Ford Church
It’s our pleasure Will, thanks for stepping up to do something about issues you care about! I think you are doing an amazing job. Here’s to changing the world!
FC