The Green School committee at my children's elementary school has been in "existence" for the last three years. Each year, we've recognized Earth Day by giving the students and staff a "green gift". The intent of these gifts is always to promote the concepts of reduce, reuse and recycle.
Earth Day 2008, we distributed nearly 400 reusable plastic water bottles (#2 HDPE plastic, made in the USA). In 2009, it was nearly 450 reusable fabric bags. The focus of 2010 was to further encourage waste reduction while promoting the concept of reuse. This was successfully accomplished by distributing 500 (hand-made) fabric snack bags.
Yes...hand-made, fabric snack bags. Our initial plan was to purchase the bags from a supplier. We found suppliers that offered a wonderful and generous discount on the quantity needed. But with such a large student population, we still could not fund the plus $1500 it would have cost.
Luckily, one of our green school committee members knows her way around a sewing machine and serger quite well. It was somewhat of a group effort, I will admit. There were a few parents cutting out fabric, a couple of us sewing on velcro and our master seamstress (and her sister) turning out the final product...all 500+ of them.
We've given our students the "tool" they need to eliminate disposable plastic baggies and begin packing a waste-free lunch. It's now their choice to use them. It's hard to imagine that someone would not use them...they were made in a variety of colors and fabric patterns. Extremely adorable!
The best part of this project? Watching the students on Thursday April 22, walk out of school happily holding their new Earth Day gifts..hand-made fabric snack bags.
Our green school committee is made up of about 8 dedicated individuals. Each one takes on a project and does such an amazing job. The stewardship they feel for our environment is inspiring. Today however, special kudos goes to JR for truly believing in what this committe can accomplish and being the driving force behind the snack-bag project in particular.
Here's a picture, if you'd like to see just what these fabulous little things are all about. Contact us for additional information about purchasing these for yourself.
