One Beach Film

Technical difficulties kept us from being able to watch this inspirational movie at this morning's Planet Patrol meeting, but I encourage you to watch it at home. Here's a link:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yP-GXSryNKs&feature=player_embedded#!

It encouraged me to think differently about the packaging choices I make, and also the potential of what may look like simple garbage.

All new Planet Patrollers got their tshirts today! Wear them with pride at all our meetings, school functions, and when you're out about town.

Everyone went home with permission slips for our field trip to Lake Lanier on October 28. These are due in the PTA mailbox by Friday, October 21, along with the $10 payment. If you have any questions please get in touch with me. I have three chaperones already but will probably need more. Mrs. Ranger, our wonderful science teacher, may also join us on this trip!

We have a cool new activity coming up too: Project Candy Wrapper. More details will be sent out on that soon!

Thanks for being at school for our early meeting this morning, and for being patient with our technical difficulties. I enjoyed hearing your stories about beach encounters with trash. We're doing a good job as individuals and as a group at East Side. We're really making a difference, guys!

Here's some information on this year's Outdoor Classroom Symposium. Last year's symposium was really fun, very educational, and was full of inspiration on how we can get our kids out in their natural world to learn hands on the lessons required at each grade level. I'm unable to attend this year but if you're a teacher or a parent that is interested in learning more, check it out! The PTA may even be able to pay your way!

http://www.eealliance.org/outdoor-learning-symposium

We had a super fun meeting last Thursday after school to make posters for

No Idle Awareness Week

Waste Free Lunch Days and

National Walk to School Day

We'll try to do more artsy projects, as you all seemed to really enjoy this. (And we'll plan more time next time!)

Our next meeting is before school on Thursday, 10/13 at 7:10am in the media center.

An email went out with the schedule of volunteers for No Idle Awareness Week.

I'm working on a schedule for helpers on Recycle Fridays, but in the meantime make sure your class is recycling as much paper and cardboard as possible! We recycled much less last week. I'll be posting our graph on the blog soon. We can do better!

We have more fun stuff on the horizon so check your emails and the blog. And for all you new Planet Patrollers, tshirts have been ordered! I hope to have them at the next meeting.

Thanks everyone! Hope you've been enjoying the great outdoors this weekend--it has been beautiful!!

2011-2012 Planet Patrol Gets Started!!

This morning was the first meeting of the 2011-2012 school year. We've got a great group--about 30 kids! Thank you to Laura Bango, Glynis Holihan, and Idit Ben-Simon for volunteering your early morning time to help with our first meeting!

After introducing ourselves we talked about CHOICES. We all make choices throughout our day that can help or harm the Earth. Here are some examples:

- whether to purchase something new or used

purchasing used or recycled keeps items out of the landfill

choosing not to purchase but to swap or use hand-me-downs saves natural resources

- checking packaging--is it recycled? is it recyclable?

- where to put our trash

putting it in the landfill is a last resort

recycling it keeps it in the flow and helps protect our air, water, and animals

In Planet Patrol this year we have some great opportunities to make a positive difference!

- In school: Recycle Fridays, No Idle Awareness Week, Waste Free Lunch Days, Walk to School Days, etc.

- In our community: cleaning up our parks, understanding how to protect wild animals and their habitats, planting trees and flowers to help with erosion or just to give back to the Earth

- In our homes: being a good example by leading our families in making Earth-friendly choices, like recycling, conserving water and energy, and more!

Wonderful team work (and patience!) was shown when we worked together to assemble 6 new recycling containers for bottles and cans.

They can be found now in the cafeteria, teacher lunch room, gym, and some teacher work rooms. Great Job!!

I will be sending out an email in the next week with some opportunities to help make posters for No Idle Awareness Week, a cool recycled-material card for Custodian Appreciation Day (they help us a lot with recycling at the school), and to remind you all of National Walk to School Day on Oct. 5. In the meantime, our next morning meeting will be Thursday, 10/13 so put that on your calendar!

If you have any questions or want to add something to the blog, just email me!

Thanks everyone! ~Mrs. Zegers

Inspiration from Ford Elementary

Here is a link to the school gardens at Ford Elementary School in Acworth. They have done a beautiful job and as we begin to think about what we can save from the DEAR Garden and what our new outdoor classroom/school garden will look like, we can look at these pictures for ideas and inspiration.

http://eeingeorgia.org/net/org/info.aspx?s=70349.0.0.4863

Contests for Artists!!

The Georgia Department of Natural Resources and The State Botanical Garden of Georgia encourage K-5th grade students to compete in the Give Wildlife a Chance Poster Contest. This popular conservation art contest provides a unique opportunity for students to explore the wonders of Georgia's nongame plant and animal species. This year’s competition theme is “Celebrating Georgia’s Wildlife Diversity from the Mountains to the Sea.”

Eligibility:
1. The contest is open to individual students (no group drawings) in kindergarten through 5th grades.
2. Home-school groups, public schools and private schools are encouraged to participate.
3. Schools/groups may enter one poster from any or all divisions:
Division 1: Kindergarten
Division 2: First and second grades
Division 3: Third and fourth grades
Division 4: Fifth grade
4. Artwork must portray Georgia nongame (not legally hunted, trapped or fished) wildlife and plants.

Participants turn the posters in to the State Botanical Garden by March 21, 2011 for judging.

More information: http://www.georgiawildlife.com/node/1110

hildren ages 6-14 are invited to submit paintings with the theme of 'Life in the Forests: Biodiversity' for the 20th Annual International Children's Painting Competition on the Environment.

Organized every year since 1991 by the United Nations Environment Programme, the Japan-based Foundation for Global Peace and Environment, Bayer and Nikon Corporation, the competition has received more than 3 million entries from children in more than 100 countries.

The first- and second-place winners will receive cash prizes of $2,000 and $1,000, respectively. Each winner will also receive a fully paid trip for themselves and a chaperone to the Tunza International Childrens Conference (date and venue to be announced later). Third through fifth place winners will each receive a certificate.

Entries due by April 15, 2011.

More information: http://www.unep.org/tunza/children/inner.asp?ct=competitions&comp=int_comp&int_comp=20th

Did you know ...

Emissions from cars and trucks harm the air we breathe. In fact, one mile of driving produces one pound of air pollution. Every mile counts! And even small actions like sharing a ride with a friend or riding the bus can make a big difference.

Your voice can be heard!

Create a comic strip that illustrates how everyday actions help reduce pollution and be part of the solution. Your message can be directed to your peers, your parents, or the general public and should relate to one or more of the following actions: no-Idling, riding a bus, carpooling, riding a bike, walking, riding the train (i.e., MARTA) or combining car trips.

More information: http://www.cleanaircampaign.org/Kids-Schools/2011-Young-Lungs-At-Work-Art-Competition/Elementary-School-Comic-Strip-Contest?j=25950994&e=cristin_zegers@yahoo.com&l=15413711_HTML&u=298824428&mid=15728&jb=0

Walk to East Cobb Park

Last Thursday Planet Patrol picked up trash along Roswell Road on our way to East Cobb Park. Everyone was so enthusiastic about cleaning up our road! I was so impressed!! We actually ran out of time and had to tell the kids to leave the trash behind so we could get to the park. This was hard for them to do!

Once we got to the park we met with Joni Atkinson from Cobb County Parks and Recreation and learned about some challenges facing public parks. Erosion was one problem and the Planet Patrollers had some great ideas on how we can help. We talked about invasive plants, we identified some birds and insects, and had a blast with the "dog poop relay!" (Don't worry, it was plastic poop, but now we all know how to properly clean up after a dog!)


We may have an opportunity to do some regular work at East Cobb Park -- a great chance for Planet Patrol to show our dedication to the maintenance and beauty of our community.

Way to go Planet Patrollers!!

Great Meeting Today!

Was that experiment with the apple cool or what? We learned how little space we have on this planet to grow crops and raise cattle to feed our growing population. Just think--wherever those tennis balls goes when they roll down the storm drains, that's where the lawn chemicals, motor oil, and other pollutants go! And it all ends up in our soil.

Like Mrs. Bango's styrofoam cups at the bank story, it's our job to raise awareness!

We talked about some upcoming contests for artists in the group. Here are some links to check out:
- http://www.cleanaircampaign.org/Kids-Schools/2011-Young-Lungs-At-Work-Art-Competition/Elementary-School-Comic-Strip-Contest?j=25950994&e=cristin_zegers@yahoo.com&l=15413711_HTML&u=298824428&mid=15728&jb=0

This is a cool comic strip contest that can earn money for our school's science, environmental, or art programs!

- http://eeingeorgia.org/resource/about.aspx?s=87260.0.0.4863

There are cash and trip prizes awarded to top winners in this painting competition!


We also talked about some upcoming activities we can have some fun with:
- Saturday, April 16 from 11-1 we are scheduled to do some tree climbing in Sandy Springs. I am so excited for this! There is a cost for this trip and a parent should plan on attending. The charge is $20 per climber. I need to know as soon as possible who wants to and is available to attend this outing. Please look at your calendar and let me know if this is something you can commit to. Here's a link for more information:
http://www.treeclimbing.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=106&Itemid=100

- On Saturday, February 26 from 7-9 there is a night hike at Chattahoochee Nature Center. I'm not available to attend this but if a group of you want to get together with your families, I'm happy to organize it!

- Keep Cobb Beautiful is rallying Cobb residents to clean up our community on Saturday, March 5 from 8:30-12:00. I am available to do this at 8:30 but only for a short time. Again, if you want to gather your parents and siblings I can do the leg-work to sign us up for an area (like our school grounds and surrounding areas). Some supplies will be provided for this project.

I'm working on setting a date for us to walk to the East Cobb Park and start work on cleaning up the stream area and doing some planting to help with erosion. I'm also working on getting a Bee Keeper to come and give us a presentation after school one day. Honey bees are so important...we'll learn why!

Thanks for coming today! I enjoyed our discussions and hearing all of your ideas and input. Please email me at environmentaleducation@eastsideelementary.com if you have any questions or want to let me know what events you want to participate in.

GO GREEN!
~ Mrs. Zegers

This week's Recycle Friday volunteers

Thanks Chloe and Eric for your help with Recycle Friday today! It was much appreciated on this rainy day at East Side!! Good work~

Keep Georgia Beautiful Field Trip!

On Thursday, February 3rd Planet Patrol visited the Keep North Fulton Beautiful Recycling Center in Sandy Springs and saw first hand what happens to the glass, plastic, tin, aluminum, cardboard, and more in the first steps of the recycling process. What a blast! We sorted (and smashed!!) glass bottles, crushed and compacted boxes, and witnessed aluminum cans being shot out of a "can smasher."


We learned that the average American makes 5 pounds of trash every day, but the average Georgian makes 6 pounds of trash every day! Yikes!!

Here's how long it takes some common items to break down in the landfill (if we reuse or recycle them we don't have to worry about this!):
Orange peel: 2-1/2 weeks
Paper bag: 1 month
Wool sock: 1 year
Milk/OJ carton: 5 years
Plastic grocery bags: 10-20 years
Tin cans: 100 years
Glass bottles: 1 million years
Styrofoam: NEVER!!


(This is a sign made of different colored bottle caps. Ms. Debbie offered to help us make a cool sign like this for our new outdoor classroom! So fun!!)

And a big thanks to Ms. Freeze, Ms. Rockaway, and Ms. Bango for accompanying us and providing taxi service (what a ride!).

Recycle Center field trip coming up!!

Planet Patrol is taking a field trip to the Morgan Falls Recycle Center on Thursday, February 3. We'll meet at the flag pole at the front of the school (parents should send a note that their child is being dismissed with walkers) and we will drive to Sandy Springs to learn the details of what happens to all those items we put in the recycling bin. Pick up will be at 4:30 at the front of the school. Have questions? Contact Cristin Zegers at environmentaleducation@eastsideelementary.com.

Ava and Shira did a great job and had a few laughs helping out on Recycle Friday last week! East Side PTA gets cash for all the paper and cardboard we recycle, and plastic bottles and cans go in the single-stream dumpster.

Thanks to everyone for getting up early for our first Planet Patrol meeting! I was so happy to see that all of you were interested in almost all of the categories we talked about today. Here's a list of the different areas of interest we talked about and some of the ideas you all had on how we can help (and we noticed that many of the projects can help in multiple areas!):


Insects, Animals, and Wildlife
Collecting and studying bugs, building birdhouses for the new school grounds, protecting animals' natural habitats, planting trees

Oceans, Lakes, and Streams
Cleaning up along the Chattahoochee River, the creeks at East Cobb Park, visiting the Chattahoochee Nature Center, promoting the use of reusable grocery bags so ocean life isn't harmed by plastic bags

Reduce, Reuse, Recycle
East Side Recycle Friday, making sure recyclables don't go in the trash at home, turning something old and used in to something new and usable (repurposing!)

Gardening, Composting, Plants & Trees
Planting trees and plants, being involved in garden space in the new school, visiting the new vegetable garden at the Chattahoochee Nature Center

Outdoor Activities: Clean Air, Trails, Outdoor Classroom
No Idle Awareness Week at East Side, scavenger hunt and maybe geocaching at East Cobb Park, nature hikes, helping in the outdoor classroom at the new school

Several of you signed up to help out with Recycle Friday. This is what Recycle Friday is all about: every Friday we meet in the cafeteria at 7:20am. As students start arriving, one or two students from each classroom (except the 4th grade classrooms) brings their recyclables to us in the cafeteria. Our job is to collect all the paper, cardboard, plastic, and aluminum into bags, do a little sorting, and bring the bags to the recycling dumpsters behind the school. East Side PTA actually earns money for all the paper and cardboard we put in the dumpster! So cool!! If you volunteer to help with this, we'll make sure you get to your classroom by 7:50, and we'll let your teacher know that you were helping out with this very important project. Once you see how much we recycle each week, you'll understand why we don't want all of this going to the dump! I'll send your parents an email with a day you can help out with Recycle Friday if you signed up for it.

I'm going to spend the next few days figuring out our first activity and I will post all the details on the blog. Our next meeting is going to be Tuesday, February 15 at 7:00am. I'll be posting more information on that meeting at the date gets closer, but in the meantime, check out all the fun contests that we can enter on the right-hand side of this page. If something really interests you, bring it to the next meeting and we'll form a group to do it!

Thanks again, everyone, for your active participation this morning! And thanks to Mrs. Bango for all your help and great ideas. I'll look forward to getting together again for some Earth-minded fun soon!

GO GREEN!
~ Mrs. Zegers

New date for first Planet Patrol meeting!

We will be meeting at 7:00am on Thursday, January 20 in front of the school then moving to the media center for our first official meeting. See you then!!

You found the Planet Patrol blog!

Greetings Planet Patrollers!!
With a snow day being called for Monday, January 10, we thought it wise to postpone our first meeting by a couple of days to allow the early morning roads to defrost a bit and for us to get adjusted back to school after some fun out in nature! I look forward to seeing you all at our first meeting on Thursday, January 13, 2011 at 7:00am!
Stay cozy!!
~ Mrs. Zegers