Too Many for the Box

Mrs. VanderGeissen brought in 3 bags of drink pouches that her 1st grade nephew, Julien Melio, had the cafeteria manager at his Norfolk school, Fairlawn Elementary, collect for us. Isn't that great? Our desire to reduce waste has gone beyond the grounds of Creeds. Well, I put them neatly in the box to mail and couldn't help myself. So I took the others from the tub and filled the box. I could hardly put the lid on the box and there were still 2 full rows of pouches left in the tub. So when I dropped off the box at UPS, it weighed 12.8 pounds. I figure that is about 1200 pouches. I wonder if any of them will end up being Christmas stocking like this picture. What would you like to see the pouches turned into for their second life?

Dress up your Thanksgiving Table

It takes far less time to wash cloth napkins and silverware than to wait on styrofoam and plastic to decompose in the landfill. Treat yourself to the luxury of an elegant table when friends and family come to visit. You're worth it.

Yard Sale

Our Second Time Around Yard Sale was a wonderful experience this past weekend. We sold table space to 20 people. The money will go toward purchasing reusable cloth napkins and real silverware so that we can reduce the amount of trash going out after school celebrations. An additional benefit is that the staff and students will enjoy the elegance of these little luxuries. As for the yard sale, people's discarded items found new homes with new purposes. It was a win-win for everyone. Maybe we'll see you there next time. Oh...and the Frog Boggers did a super job conducting tours of the Frog Bog and were given $36 in donations to use on additions. It was a marvelous day!

Recycling Rewards

The Conservation Chiefs are on recycling duty. They are determined to teach their classmates to recycle the appropriate materials and trash the inappropriate materials. Their new responsibility includes checking the blue recycle bin in their classes at the end of the day and reporting any problems to the class so that they can learn from their mistakes. It is an ambitious goal, but I have faith that they will make a difference. I have heard from parents that they are working on the household, too. Way to go, Conservation Chiefs! Ask them what can be recycled and why it is important to recycle. What do you think is the most frequently misplaced material? paper? food wrappers? bottles? paper towels? Ask a custodian, they know the answer.

Conservation Pays Off

Ok, the totals are in. We earned $56.68 for our empty drink pouches, zipper bags, and corks. Thank you for sending in these items. Every item counts and they added up one at a time to a great total. Plus we prevented all the items from going to the landfill. They will be given a second life instead. What do you think we should buy with the money? something for the Frog Bog? something for the gardens? something for the school building that is eco-friendly? We should recieve the check in December, so give it some thought and tell your Conservation Chief your ideas.