Hundreds of future environmentalists flock to Brookwood

Looking through a shell

By Ruth Kitchen, GYF Education Director

More than 500 people flocked to Brookwood Elementary School in Snellville, Georgia, on April 17 to attend Greening Youth Foundation’s 2^nd Annual Earth Day Fun Festival. The event was a rousing success, due to the hard work of the volunteers, vendors, educators and community members who came out to support Greening Youth, as well as the enthusiasm of youngsters from Brookwood Elementary, Craig Elementary and Crews Middle School.

Around 11 AM, people began to arrive at the front of Brookwood to embark on their Earth Day Fun Festival Journey. In a very organized fashion, electronics, plastic bags, tennis shoes, paper, cardboard and batteries were dropped off at the designated stations. Parents were happy to get the stuff out of the house and children were thrilled to receive tickets to play carnival games. Already a win-win!

Parents dropping off computers to recycle.

The recycling event ended with the impressive accumulation of the following:

Electronics………………………………..5,204 lbs.

Shredded Paper……………………………1.4 Tons

Plastic Bags……………………………….400 lbs.

Recycled/Nike Shoes……………………..120 Pairs

Reusable/Haiti Shoes……………………..150 Pairs

Batteries…………………………………..Over 200 lbs.

Sneakers!

The families continued to the back of the school where the children picked up a passport.  They were encouraged to visit with the various eco-vendors and eco-educators to learn more about their green initiatives. We were thrilled with the participation of the following:

• EcoOrchards

• Cartridge World

Girls dance with Cartridge World mascot

• Shar Mallory-Fossils

• Rivers Alive

• Adopt a Stream

• Gorilla Sacks

• Pure Green Solutions

• Endangered Species Specialist- Dennis Krusac

• Wellness Resources

• Recycooler

• Rancho Alegre Farm

• Recycle Michael

• I Care Bags

• Laurene Hall-Recycle Aluminum Art

Upon completion of their passport, the students returned to the passport table to receive a donated REI reusable bag. Of course, they were eyeing all those fun carnival games and prizes further in the back! Plant Walk, Polluted Fish Pond, Spiderman Obstacle Course, Face Painting, here they come!

Throughout the day, the crowd was entertained by exuberant young dancers from Clogging Connection and harmonious vocalists from Brookwood’s and Craig’s choirs.  The audience was mesmerized by the inspirational and vibrant performances.

Clogging Connection

Because of all the excitement taking place outdoors, people forgot about eating.  Numerous announcements were made to encourage the ingestion of the fabulous BBQ sandwiches, popcorn, pretzels, cotton candy and pizza. Yum!  Once a few ventured in and spread the word, the lines began to form.

Towards the end of the day, the Eco-Forcers from the participating schools began to gather to share their creative recyclable costumes. Plastic shirts, dresses, pants, hats, and shoes were the rage. Foiled hats, canes and jewelry glistened in the sun as they paraded by. Their vocal chords were ready for a much needed rest after screaming the 3 R’s—reduce, reuse, recycle—to the crowd.

Dropping off sneakers for recycling

Greening Youth Foundation is appreciative of our sponsors: Kroger, REI, STA Apparel, Apex Marketing, Crystal Springs Water, Stubbs BBQ Sauce, the volunteers, parents, community members, board members, teachers, Eco-Vendors, Eco-Educators, and our Eco-Force club members for helping to put on such an enjoyable and informative community event.

03/26/2010

Christine Glunz
(202) 456-3469

WASHINGTON - Obama Administration Officials announced today that they will host a White House Conference on America’s Great Outdoors on Friday, April 16, 2010. Nancy Sutley, Chair of the White House Council on Environmental Quality, Ken Salazar, Secretary of the Interior, and Tom Vilsack, Secretary of Agriculture are leading the conference, which will address the challenges, opportunities and innovations surrounding modern-day land conservation and the importance of reconnecting Americans and American families to the outdoors.

“America’s outdoors are part of our national identity. They are the farms, ranches and forests that we take great pride in, and the neighborhood parks, trails and fields where we spend memorable time with our families and friends,” said Nancy Sutley, Chair of the White House Council on Environmental Quality. “Too many of these places are disappearing. In launching this conversation, we strive to learn about the smart, creative community efforts underway throughout the country to conserve our outdoor spaces, and hear how we can support these efforts.”

“Across the country, Americans are working to protect the places they know and love, from the streams they fished as children and the parks where families gather together to the battlefields and buildings that tell America’s story,” said Ken Salazar, Secretary of the Interior. “The Conference is a great chance to learn about these efforts, start a new dialogue about conservation in America, and find ways to further the work that is already going on in cities and towns, counties and states throughout the country.”

“There is no doubt that we face serious challenges to our natural resources: climate change, air and water pollution, a lost connection between some Americans and the outdoors, and a fragmentation and loss of open space,” said Tom Vilsack, Secretary of Agriculture. “We believe that the best way to answer these challenges is to work with landowners, conservation groups, sportsmen and women, local communities, and state and local governments to conserve America’s great outdoors, and in doing so, reconnect Americans to our forests, working lands and public lands.”

This conference will bring together leaders from communities across the country that are working to protect their outdoor spaces. Participants will include working ranchers and farmers, sportsmen and women, State and local government leaders, Tribal leaders, public lands experts, conservationists, youth leaders, business representatives and others who view the outdoors as integral to their communities. The discussion will center on the conservation opportunities in communities, the challenges facing them, and the innovative solutions they are crafting from the bottom up.

The conference will offer an opportunity for participants to engage with each other, learn from past and ongoing efforts, communicate how the Federal Government can support these efforts, and identify new opportunities to work together to modernize our approach to conservation, and reinvigorate the national conversation about our outdoors.

Media credentialing information will be released when it becomes available.