Kids at ELC Take the Lead on Recycling
Posted by CEHD in College News
The Early Learning Campus (ELC) has taken steps to encourage all staff and children to learn about recycling as a life skill as opposed to being a choice to help the environment.
The Green Team was created to lead this effort and they are responsible for collecting recyclables at the facility once a week. The materials are then taken to a nearby recycle dumpster. The team consists of three children and one teacher. Classroom teachers help determine which children, 2 1/2 and up, will be on the team and obtain permission slips in advance for their participation. The Green Team wears green vests and caps when they collect recycling materials from each classroom. The project not only teaches children and adults the importance of recycling but the children also learn about how important their individual roles are in saving the planet.
To get the project started, teaching assistant, Lora Whearty, met with Aaron Boggs, Ground Superintendent for Belknap Campus, and Bryan Bogo, representative from the recycling company that works with UofL, to tour the school and complete a recycling audit. The audit helped Whearty determine how many bins would be needed and where they should be placed at the school. Lora also created flyers for the children’s parents/guardians to take home so they could begin their own recycling program. In addition, she provided to parents and teachers at the ELC a list of books, videos, and links to websites about recycling and the many different ways to ‘go green.’
Each classroom has been provided with a list of items that are considered recyclables and includes suggested activities children can engage in to help them better understand what being ‘green’ really means. Whearty also drafted a document for teachers that outlines what ELC hopes to accomplish through the program and offers other ideas on how to create recycling lessons for the children.
“This project has been great fun for all of us. I am so happy to have the opportunity to assist in creating a generation of citizens who have a deep sense of responsibility to take care of their planet,” stated Whearty.
To learn more about the Early Learning Campus, visit their website.