Yesterday I closed out the 2007-2008 school year with a visit to Marion, Massachusetts. It was rainy and dreary outside, but inside the Sippican School I spent a bright and busy day speaking with fourth, fifth and sixth graders about reading, writing, and TRACKING TRASH.
I was impressed with the inquisitive Sippican students and their obvious passion for the environment. Every grade had questions for me, some of them very tough to answer. A few students moved beyond outrage at plastic pollution in the ocean and began brainstorming—right there in the classroom—solutions to these problems. And their ideas, with research and refinement, could someday make a difference.
The Sippican fifth graders were particularly excited to share with me their recent project: an initiative to promote the use of re-useable canvas bags over disposable plastic ones. I saw for myself the results of their research (visual displays of the information gleaned from a community-wide survey on plastic, paper, and canvas bag usage) and the fruits of their labor (students set up a plastic bag recycling station which has been filling regularly).
You can read more about Marion’s efforts to go plastic bag-free in this Southcoast News article. And you can follow their progress on the MySpace page of parent coordinator, Terri Lerman. Of course, if you happen to live near Marion, you can attend tonight’s Band Blast event and pick up some re-useable canvas bags of your own.
Thank you, Sippican students, teachers, and parents. It was a pleasure to be part of your community for a day … and I wish you the very best of luck with your Plastic Bag Free Marion initiative!