Earth Day

On Wednesday our Friends Academy school community celebrated Earth Day with a special assembly. In preparation for this, each class was to design and create a flag to place on the edge of our school garden.

To begin, our class discussed the purpose of Earth Day, and ways in which we can care for the earth each and every day. Many children talked about the fact that there is too much trash and litter in our world. Others talked about the importance of recycling and reusing things. When asked what kind of trash WE as a class create, the children were silent. "Hmmmm . . .", they must have been thinking. "We DO recycle paper. We DO reuse paper. What do we throw away?" When we asked "At what points during our day does our trash can get most full?" The kids' hands shot up. "Oh I know! During lunch and snack!"

And so began a new class committment: To reduce the amount of trash that we generate during snack and lunch times. In order to begin our work, each person in the class got our their lunch boxes. We wrote lists of the things that would end up in the trash that day. Then we brainstormed ways to pack our lunches and snacks differently so that we would not fill our trash can. These included:

1. Composting fruit and vegetable peels and cores.

2. Buying larger quantities of snack foods and bringing them to school in smaller reusable containers.

3. Bringing water or beverages in reusable and safe bottles.

4. Using cloth napkins and washable utensils.

5. Recycling yogurt containers and cardboard packaging.

The children are excited about this new commitment and you will probably be hearing from them about it! Encourage your child to help pack their snacks and lunches and plan together about how to reduce their trash. We hope to end each school day with a mostly empty trash can!