July 18, 1998
Teachers get a lesson in recycling
By Cathy Willoughby
Staff Writer
Some area teachers were preparing pizza Thursday afternoon. And although it looked almost good enough to eat, the ''sauce'' was red glue,and the toppings ranged from paper to marbles.
They were participants in a teacher workshop entitled ''The Rotten Truth'' given by Jennifer Boos of Seneca County Recycling and Litter Prevention. The ''garbage pizza'' was just one of the hands-on projects the teachers could use to illustrate for their students some of the concepts in environmental studies.
The workshop was one half of a program sponsored by the Franciscan Earth Literacy Center, and was held there. Scott Grenerth, the center's director, said that most of the programs that they present are geared for children in grades kindergarten through sixth grade.
Boos explained the concept of the pizza to the teachers. Each slice represented a percentage of our trash. ''This can be used to convey the overall impression of what they throw away everyday. Thirty eight point nine percent of it is paper or paper products. This is a good way to get a visual representation of what we throw away everyday,'' she said.
She then showed the teachers how to examine the slices and explain which sections can be eliminated by recycling or reuse. ''A large amount of the paper can be recycled,'' she said. ''And yard waste and food waste can be composted. Alot of the plastics can be recycled, wood can be used for other projects, there is a section for glass, metals such as tin and aluminum, and a small piece for others.''
Once the teachers created their own pizzas for their classrooms, they would be sprayed with polyurethane so that they would not attract insects. Boos said that the concept could be used in a display or larger billboard for the whole class to be involved.
They also learned what objects decompose rapidly and which take hundreds, or thousands of years. From several weeks for a piece of lettuce or a piece of paper, to a hundred years for a tin can, she stressed informing the children of what breaks down. She recalled a children's video in which the actors were going through the Museum of Modern Trash. ''It illustrated that the Statue of Liberty will be gone before the glass jar of bottle,'' Boos said.
Fellow teachers at St. Peters School in Upper Sandusky, Amy Flaherty and Janine Wetherell found the classroom projects and worksheets useful and interesting. Flaherty, who teaches third graders, said that she covered recycling somewhat in her curriculum, and would more after her experiences at the workshop.
Marilin Ley, who teaches the fourth grade at St. Wendelin's in Fostoria, said that she felt everyone could benefit from the knowledge she gained, not just teachers.
''It's a good idea that the students can do it themselves,'' she said. ''We all remember what we do better than just what we hear.''
Among the other activities featuring recycling such as crafts with old puzzle pieces, earth bracelets, and using new ''paper'' made from old, mixed with some plaster of paris to make pins, magnets or Christmas ornaments.