Grant Report from Grayson County HS!

Grayson Spreads the Word on Reducing, Reusing, and Recycling
This is Grayson County High School in southwest VA posting about the project we were able to accomplish through the grant we received from Keep America Beautiful. The project we chose was to educate our community and student body about was the importance of reducing, reusing, and recycling. The project was carried out by the ECO club at the high school. One of the major issues the students wanted to address was the over use of plastic bags at the grocery stores. With the grant money we received the club purchased cloth shopping bags with their ECO Warrior Logo on them from our local printer. The students felt an obligation to buy all materials locally. Our printer was even able to get the bags made out of 100% recycled plastic bottle made fabric. The students were very excited about the bags as they felt it fully supported the project. The first mission of the project was to educate the community by interacting with the shoppers at a local grocery store and giving away the bags. The store manager allowed the students to talk to the shoppers at the checkout about why it is important to use cloth bags. Each shopper took away a cloth bag filled with their groceries. They seemed to really appreciate the students’ concerns and efforts. The store manager was thrilled to have the students take an interest in the store and its customers.
The next mission was to educate the student body. For the students, the club ordered black string backpacks with their ECO Warrior logo on them. The club felt the students would use these more as they are popular among young people. First the club decorated the big bulletin board in the front hallway of the school with a display that emphasized reducing, reusing, and recycling. Then the club organized several contests for the students to win the backpacks. The contests included posters, poetry, and hidden facts about saving our planet the students had to find. The students loved the black backpacks and eagerly participated in the events.
Our final mission which, is not yet complete is to interact with younger children in the elementary and middle schools. For this, we purchased 2nds t shirts that our Independent Living Skills class is making into cloth bags. They saw a design on the internet that recycles old t shirts into cloth shopping bags. The ECO club members along with members of the Independent Living Class and FCCLA club members will visit the lower grades to spread the message of reducing, reusing and recycling. The older students will use puppets to express these ideas to the younger students. Once the bags are finished, the club will carry out this final phase of the project.