Earth Day activities held at local schools

Huron Heights Public School and St. Anthony's School in Kincardine held a number of environmental awareness activities Friday, in honour of Earth Day which is April 22.

An assembly was held at Huron Heights Friday morning, with lots of student participation. Winners of the Earth Day poster contest each received a T-shirt bearing his/her artwork. The following won the contest:
 

• Kylie Nesbitt, Grade 4
• Lauren Green, Grade 4
• Pankti Shah, Grade 4
• Caydence Gibson, Grade 5
• Kenzie Moore, Grade 5/6
• Heidi Allen, Grade 6
• Sasha Ross, Grade 6
• Robert McGregor, Grade 7
• Daniel Rouleau, Grade 7
• Khushali Shah, Grade 7/8
• Brennen Long, Grade 8
• Ethan Dowling, Developmental Learning class

The school's Green Team received a cheque for $300 from the Kincardine Township-Tiverton Environmental Green School Project (KttEGSP). Through the year the KttEGSP collects accumulated commissions from BioBag and Green Shift on products purchased by local organizations. These commissions are disbursed to all the local schools that are educating green initiatives.

St. Anthony's School also received a similar cheque, and Ripley-Huron Community School will receive its cheque next week.

Friday afternoon, St. Anthony's School welcomed Vanessa Farquharson of Terracycle in Toronto to outline how that program works. Teacher Amanda Saxton and the school's Green Team lead this program in the Kincardine area.

Farquharson told the students that garbage is not found in nature; it is a manmade creation and a manmade problem based on our desire to consume things.

"Canadians produce more garbage per person than ANY other country," she said. "Each of us produces 1,700 pounds of garbage per year. That's the equivalent to the weight of 30 Grade 2 students."

That's where Terracycle comes in. Since 2001, schools like St. Anthony's have collected three-billion pieces of waste, including 250-million juice pouches, that have been turned into new and different products, said Farquharson.

There are collection brigades all across Canada, she said. They collect the garbage in bins, and then it is packaged and shipped to the Terracycle warehouse just outside Toronto. The packages are weighed on giant scales so Terracycle can give the schools the right amount of points in credit.

Farquharson said the best thing to do with garbage is find a way to reuse it. Or you can upcycle it - taking garbage and turning it into better items, such as a bag made from juice pouches, or a clock or picture frame made from E-waste.

"If you can't reuse or upcycle, try to recycle your garbage," she said.

Terracycle began in 2001 when 19-year-old Tom Szaky, a Princeton University freshman, started producing organic fertilizer by packaging liquified “worm poop” in used soda bottles.

The company is now in 21 countries with its main office in Toronto which is decorated wit all upcycled items.

"Outsmart waste," said Farquharson. "Help the planet. Make a difference."

For more about Terracycle, go to the website at www.terracycle.com