Alaska Earth Day Groceries Reports - 1998
The Earth Day Groceries Project worked great here in Cordova, Alaska! I
received the 600 paper bags without any problems from Colleen Shine in Virginia,
distributed them to kids from Preschool to 6th grade, and took them to the
Grocery Stores on Earth Day. I even took it a step further and picked 2 From
each grade that were the "favorites" from a panel of judges and displayed those
at the local post office. That increased awareness even more. Although the
project guidelines suggest only putting first names on the bags, in a town so
remote and small (pop 2300), the kids really wanted their names and grade on
the bags so that the "favorites" could be recognized. I think we will actual
have some type of personal certificate or something next year for the "best
decorated" ones that are displayed at the post office.
I chose to involve our post office because they are responsible for the bulk of
paper recycling in our town. They ship out thousands of pounds of paper and
cardboard to be sold to a buyer in Washington on the empty mail barges that
leave Cordova. The postmaster loved the idea from the beginning.
It was a really great project and I will recommend to my department head that
the other Environmental Health Promoters in our region do the project in their
communities next year.
Thanks for all of the help and information you have posted on the Internet! I
didn't think we could do it in a town without paper bags at the stores, but we
did! I even had the manager of one grocery store tell me that he knew paper
bags were the "right thing to do" and that he would consider offering them as
an option, although they are more expensive. Paper and cardboard can be
recycled here in Cordova, but plastic cannot.
Thanks again for helping to make this great project a reality in a town without
paper bags!
Kate Williams kate@tribalnet.org
This message sent via TribalNet International
Seventh grade students in my life science classes decorated
130 grocery bags on April 21, 1998. The bags will be dropped
off at the grocery story early Wednesday morning (4/22).
Mike Geil (chefmeg@northstar.k12.ak.us)
Tanana Satellite Middle School
Fairbanks, Alaska
We have decorated 110 Safeway grocery bags, with Earth Day
messages! Terry, the manager, was more than happy to see
someone willing to do this for Earth Day!
Next year, we'll double the number!
Sharon Kuzakin (skuzakin@northstar.k12.ak.us)
Arctic Light Elem. http://northstar.k12.ak.us
Ft. Wainwright, Alaska
Alaska Earth Day Groceries Reports - 1997
Our team of seventh grade students at Tanana Satellite Middle school in
Fairbanks, Alaska decorated about 100 grocery bags for one of our local
supermarkets.
Mike Geil, Science Teacher
chefmeg@northstar.k12.ak.us
Alaska Earth Day Groceries Reports - 1995
I forwarded your message about the project to other elementary
schools some time ago. One school has the following response.
from Mat F. Please could you let the originators know that we had about
326 bags decorated at our school? Teachers and kids responded
enthusiastically. (I noticed, however, that few people actually ask for
paper at Kodiak Safeway. It looked like checkers would give plastic
by default unless a customer specifically asked, and no one was asking
while I watched.) Joe Gully at Safeway said they recycle their bags,
and would be willing to show classes how they compress and bundle
recyclables.
I expect to hear from at least one more school, probably today. Thanks
for the opportunity to participate.
Pat J.
janee@muskox.alaska.edu
Mark, our kids did 164 bags and the response from the community
was overwhelming. Skagway has approx. 125 students k-12
and many parents wanted to receive their child's bag when they
were at the grocery store. The clerks at the store had a blast with the
bags trying to match some local personalities with
the designs.
Thanks again
Gary Trozzo
JFGAT@acad1.alaska.edu
Skagway City School District
Skagway Alaska
Hi Mark, These bags were decorated for Earth Day at:
Nenana Public School
P.O. Box 10
Nenana, AK 99760
k - 60
1 - 70
2 - 60
3 - 33
4 - 79
5 - 179
7 - 15
Total - 496
Nenana is a k-12 school located 60 miles southwest of Fairbanks. The bags
were distributed in Nenana and Fairbanks. The Earth Day program was
sponsored by the fifth grade class. (You can tell!)
Thanks for the invitation to join in, this was their first NET project.
It was a great success.
Robin Turk (parent)
robint@muskox.alaska.edu
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