Students took part in Recycle Everywhere’s “Cleanest Playground Challenge”
The Recycle Everywhere’s sustainability month in October ended on a high note for Stony Mountain School’s Grade 5/6 class. Ms. Stewart’s class participated in the Recycle Everywhere Cleanest Playground Challenge and entered for a chance to win a pizza party and $5,000 in school supplies. The class ended up winning the grand prize and a big cheque was delivered last week.
“When I got the email, I was so excited,” said teacher Ms. Stewart. “Our students loved learning about recycling and how we can make decisions every day to ensure a cleaner environment for us all.”
Stewart said her class participated in two town clean ups this fall, while the other grade 5/6 also entered the contest and completed a clean up.
“The students are being encouraged to take pride in their school and community by doing these town clean ups,” said Stewart.
The students worked as a team to collect litter and learn what can and cannot be recycled. Their first cleanup resulted in eight full bags of garbage shared student Alex Sawka, demonstrating the power of collective action. The students not only showed their successes through the task but also the knowledge they gained on the importance of recycling.
Haelyn Catwell reflected on the clean up and acknowledged, “Sometimes we can’t change our past, but we can always work towards changing our future. Recycling and garbage cleanup is a good way to start doing that.”
For Stewart, the win wasn’t just about the cash prize, though the funds will go toward much-needed school supplies. It was about instilling a sense of pride and responsibility in the students.
“Winning the contest was just icing on the cake!” said Stewart.
Another student shared why the importance of this initiative was relevant to him.
“The more you pollute, the more it is hurting our planet, including the plants and animals that live here,” said Liam MacInnis.
The challenge, which was running throughout the month of October was open to all classrooms in Manitoba.
“Recycle Everywhere is committed to teaching recycling best practices to Manitobans of all ages,” says Jaclyn Diduck, Recycle Everywhere Senior Manager, Programs. “This initiative is part of the Recycle Everywhere 101 program which has been embraced by teachers, students and school staff since it was launched over five years ago.” The not-for-profit organization reports that 92 per cent of primary and secondary schools have used resources from the program over that time.
Schools across the province participated in the challenge and three others won secondary prizes of an ultimate pizza party including, Winnipeg Mennonite School (Bedson Campus) and Ecole Belmont in Winnipeg and MacGregor Elementary in the RM of North Norfolk.
To learn more about the Recycle Everywhere 101 and access the free resources, games, videos and activity pages, visit RecycleEverywhere.ca/programs/school.
