Area schools have honored Earth Day for years. The annual events, projects and activities embody a goal of getting the ecological message through to a community that enjoys one of the best natural environments in the country.
The Falls High School National Honor Society has several projects related to Leap Into Green Week that runs through May 1.
Anna Remus, president, NHS, said the goal is raising environmental awareness and encouraging students to ride their bikes or walk to school to reduce emissions, along with recycling paper, plastics, aluminum and glass in the bins that have been placed around school.
“NHS is also raising money to buy energy efficient light bulbs for senior citizens,” said Remus.
Chris Hemstad, FHS advisor and science teacher, said the data generated from keeping track of recyclables would allow students to calculate the school’s carbon footprint.
“The Honor Society will be emptying the room bins and container bins weekly,” said Hemstad. “Hopefully, we are educating the student body on the importance of recycling. The teachers have been great and say they love to take part.”
The bins are provided by the Falls Coca-Cola Bottling Company, according to Jay Bartkowski, president, who said it is a proactive commitment to recycling.
“We are happy to pass them along to the school,” said Bartkowski. “It is part of the “Coca-Cola ‘Give it Back” program and the goal is to put recycling on the radar screen in all the communities they serve.
“International Falls is our major market and we are following through on what Coca-Cola is doing nationally,” he added.
According to program statistics, the energy saved in recycling just one plastic bottle is equivalent to the power a computer uses for 25 minutes, said Bartkowski.
The company also provided recycling bins to Rainy River Community College and the city offices. He said cans with Miller and Anheuser Busch logos are available for public events, golf courses and where the products are sold.
With Minnesota among the top recycling states, Bartkowski said these voluntary efforts are preferable to the statewide beverage deposit legislation.
“Right now they are proposing a dime deposit on a bottle,” he said, “ and that goes for every beverage container: pop, beer, milk cartons, plastics and cardboard.”
Hemstad added that the FHS shop classes may soon build storage sheds to hold recyclables on a weekly basis until they are transferred to the county recycling facility by workers with the Sentence to Serve program, provided by the Occupational Development Center.
Dale Olson, director of Koochiching County Environmental Services, said a school recycling program is a good idea, especially when younger kids can watch the example of older kids acting responsibly.
“If the kitchen and all the students got involved, the paper would be quite a bit of tonnage per year,” said Olson. “I hope they keep it going.”
Olson recalled that Littlefork-Big Falls High School students built recycling sheds in the 1990s and have been using them ever since.
Falls Elementary Principal Jerry Hilfer, said that the NHS and FHS Student Council are working with fifth and sixth grade classes to get them involved in responsible resource management.
Falls Elementary fifth-grade teacher Deana Lorenson, is planning a community cleanup during the week of Earth Day. She said students plan to clean nearby trails if they are dry, or will be cleaning nearby parks.
In the interest of giving back to the community, St. Thomas Catholic School in grades four through seven will take part in a spring highway cleanup the day before Earth Day, on Tuesday, from 1 p.m. to 2:15 p.m. About 45 students will clean the ditches along Highway 11, from the Duluth Clinic to Falls High School. They chose the location because of the volume of plastic bags and trash that comes across the parking lots and highway.
Lorene McIntosh, an Indus School art teacher, annually conducts a “trash day”, when every teacher focuses on the topic of the trash cycle and with art and related projects.
Littlefork-Big Falls School has its “Ultimate Fitness Challenge”, a seven-week series of health and nutrition related activities that culminates on Earth Day with the entire elementary school going on a one-mile walk led by Principal and Superintendant Fred Seybert at 2:15 p.m.
Susan Palm, L-BF school nurse, said the curriculum focuses on the updated food pyramid, and teaches students how to keep track of their diet in a positive way. She credits the effort with helping to overhaul the school menu away from processed foods.
Young children bring home literature for parents about high-fiber and whole-grain diets with fruits and milk. Palm includes fun recipes for parents and kids to make together.
The kids were also encouraged to conduct 30 to 60 minutes of outdoor and physical activity daily. They conduct a pretest and post-test survey to let students chart their progress.
