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!).