Gill Elementary Celebrates Green School Status

Proud to be an official , continued its earth friendly campaign to help students understand the importance of recycling with a Friday assembly. The school’s Green Team displayed fun ways to learn about our planet’s resources and how we can reuse them to help conserve raw materials.

Gina Adams-Levy, a parent volunteer who co-manages the Green Team, showed kids ways to recycle, but also explained why it’s so important.

“My goal is to get kids thinking about the lifecycle of the stuff that we use, and how it’s not just the 30 minutes that we use it.” Adams-Levy said. “I think by explaining the lifecycle of products, kids start to think about how a cup will be in a landfill for 500 years, and start processing and think, maybe I can get a drink out of a fountain instead.”

Teaching young children about waste and fuels isn’t always very exciting, she said. So Adams-Levy comes up with creative ways to draw their attention. Her lessons are interactive, and she invites volunteers to help her with the presentation.

Adams-Levy says making it fun helps them learn, and families can do the same thing. “Make a scavenger hunt when you go to the store with your parents by looking for the recycled logo on packages," she said.

Founder of Peace, Love & Planet, a non-profit organization (peaceloveandplanet.org) devoted to programs like the Friday assembly, Adams-Levy said there are currently 60 kids on the school Green Team.

Among their projects, she said, "We implemented Waste Free Fridays in our cafeteria to promote conservation and kids understanding the importance of reducing our trash.”

The student’s enthusiasm was obvious at Friday's assembly, with the show of hands for volunteers during the presentation. That excitement carries over to the Green Team members.

Luke Braska, a fourth grader, helped form waste free Fridays and also helps put on plays for the Green Team. When it comes to green advice, he's got ideas to share.

“I think students should just car pool with their friends and family when they go to school," Braska suggests.

Rosie Burns-Pavlik, a fourth grade Green Team member and School Garden Treasurer, helps with Green team fundraising. She and her dad will be washing plastic spoons at an upcoming school ice cream social.

“Join the green team and try and help out as much as you can,” she advised fellow students.

The Waste Free Friday campaign has earned the school a sixth place finish – something in which the school takes great pride.