Project: Conserve/Green Purchasing
Project: Conserve/Reuse
Our Eco Store!
Our Recycling Club Members have been using items
that otherwise would have been thrown away to
make new things! We opened an “Eco Store” to sell
repurposed items such as pencils, cards, bottle cap
necklaces, and bracelets. We also sell purchased
items from Eco Friendly sources such as Earth
Friendly Recycled Lanyards, Earth Friendly
Clipboards, Recycled Blank Cards and Envelopes,
ECOeverywhere One with Nature sketchbooks,
TOPS Second Nature Notebooks, Bracelets made
from recycled glass beads from Indonesia, and 4M
Eco Science Toys. We also sold items from
LimeGreener, a local seller of repurposed items.
Items made from Janet’s Plarn Crochet, another
local who sells handmade crotched lanyards, purses,
and water bottle holders made from upcycled plastic
shopping bags also sold well. The students
advertised through our Bobcat Newsletter. We had
parent and PTO volunteers who helped us as well.
Our whole student body learned how neat it is to
buy things that can also help the environment. We
were featured on Richland One TV, WIS-TV, and on
our own Bobcat Morning Show!
Project: Conserve/Recycling
Our students in the Recycling Club have
learned the benefits of reducing waste.
This leads to less garbage in our landfills.
Our recycling club meets from 2:30-3:30
every Monday. We collect bins and sort
trash to put in the large bins. They have
taught our student body about the
importance of reducing, reusing and
recycling. We put up posters encouraging
recycling and conserving. We also taught
others on Earth Day! We had Tiffany
Jaspers, City of Columbia Recycling
Coordinator and Jane Hiller, Sonoco
Recycling, teaching students songs about
reducing/reusing/recycling.
The Wheel of Glass, Metal, Plastic.
Tiffany Jaspers with the City of Columbia and Jane Hiller with Sonoco Recycling,
told the students to spend the wheel and then they sang a song relating to what
they landed on. The students loved it!!
Students in front of our mural made from
materials that would have been thrown away: wine corks, bottle caps, lids, etc.
Project Protect: Water
We use a rain barrel to water our Five Senses Garden in our Kindergarten area.
We learned about using water that runs from the gutters is better for the
environment. During our Earth Day event, we had Mary Caflisch, with the
Clemson Extension and Carolina Clear Program, taught us about the importance
of keeping our water clean. We also had Sustainable Midlands, the City of
Columbia, and DHEC teach us about the watershed, runoff, storm drains, and
pollution that goes into rivers, creeks, and ponds. The students wrote what they
learned after wonderful demonstrations. They were also given pamphlets to take
home. WIS-TV also featured our Earth Day events, which will teach the
community also!
Roger Schweitzer, our PTO President, is also a hydro-geologist with DHEC. He talks about his job with
the students on Earth Day.
Sustainable Midlands. Talks about the Rocky Branch Creek and
the watershed – how to keep our streams and creeks from being polluted.
Protect Air Project
We take part in the Department of Health and Environmental Control’s
Breathe Better Program. The students campaign for anyone in the car
line to stop idling by making posters and giving out Breathe Better
information and vinyl window stickers. They also encourage the bus
drivers and daycare van drivers to turn off their engines. We have signs
that state, “No idling here – kids breathe here.”
The students have learned the importance of air quality. Debra BriggsMonroe with DHEC, came to our Earth Day event and gave us an
excellent presentation about air pollution. She gave all of the students
brochures, posters, and activity books to take home and teach their
parents about improving air quality.
Project: Protect Air
Our Walk to School Days
and our Ride and Roll Schools promote cleaner air by using less fuel. We promote
these days at least once a quarter. We have “human bus stops” where students
meet teachers and parents and we walk to school. We also ride or roll to school
also.
Project: Protect Air, Soil, and Water through our Adopt A Spot Program
Recycling Club students picked up trash at the Edisto Community
Garden Area. They put items that could be recycled into one bag and
items that had to be disposed of into another bag. We picked up 3 bags
and helped our community become a cleaner place! The students
learned that trash destroys the beauty and safety of a community.
The students also entered the Palmetto Pride Litter Prevention
Program’s Poster contest, “Litter Trashes Everyone”. Congratulations
to our school winner, fifth grader Jalen Blunt! All students who entered
received a certificate and the top posters were displayed at Tapp’s Art
Center in downtown Columbia.
Lauren Robinson, Environmental Assistant with Keep the Midlands
Beautiful, presented “Good Garbage, Bad Garbage, No Garbage at All”
at our Earth Day event.
Project Restore Habitat: Garden Club
Students learn about soil, plant life cycles, nutritional value of fruits and
vegetables. They learned how to plant cabbage, lettuce, tomatoes, and other
yummy vegetables! Seth Guest, with Sustainable Carolina (USC Green Quad), and
others, come every other Thursday to teach our students about roots,
germination, percolation, compost, planting, and taste testing! First we meet in
the classroom and learn about components of gardening and habitat. We do an
investigation. Then we work in our vegetable garden. Our garden was installed in
the Fall during our Green Apple Day of Service. Thanks to Bill Yandle who
donated potting soil, plants, seeds, and a lot of his time. Also to the Department
of Juvenile Justice’s H.O.P.E. Program who donated our raised beds. The
Internationals English Program also donated money through our Adopt A
Classroom grant. Thanks to all of you for helping our students learn all about
gardening and habitat!
We are on Sustainable Carolina’s website. This showed our Earth Day event and our Garden Club! What
a great way to reach the University of South Carolina’s Students and our Community!
Project Restore Soil: Compost
Vermi-compost bin. Used to show students at the soil conservation booth on
Earth Day. This was also used to help them with their Dig Deeper posters.
Students
collect food scraps from the cafeteria and grass clippings, leaves, and mulch and
put it in our large compost bin in the Secret Garden. We use our compost for our
gardens.
Students work on Soil Conservation Posters: Dig Deeper
Earth Day-Students making soil conservation posters.
Other Earth Day Pictures
Carolina Wildlife Care
USC Marine Science SEAS Program