School News You Can Use – May, 2016
The Countdown to Summer has Begun!
dronenews.org
INSIDE THIS ISSUE
- Conference News – Surprise Guest at Conference
- CLUB News – Two New CLUB Members & South Royalton School Hosts Workshops
- In The News – Kids in the News
- Contests, Scholarships & Fundraisers – Sunoco Deadline Nears
- EPA & NHDES News –NH Envirothon May 24
- Activity – Making Bracelets Using Plastic Lids
- Green Calendar
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CONFERENCE NEWS
Surprise Conference Visitor – Kermit the Frog!
Attendees from Henry W. Moore School enjoy some Green Time with Kermit!
Conference attendees were surprised and delighted when Kermit the Frog made several live appearances over the 2-day Conference! Pictures and selfies abounded and he even assisted with the School CLUB Awards ceremony.
Kermit approves as Milford Middle School walks away with three awards.
About the Conference:
The CLUB, in conjunction with the Annual Northeast Recycling Conference & Expo, hosted the Annual School Recycling Conference on Tuesday May 17th. This conference provided a full day of educational workshops and activities specifically tailored to school issues in recycling and the solid waste industry. The Conference & Expo was a great opportunity for students, teachers and administrators who were interested in learning more about school recycling, expanding their programs, increasing the efficiency of their current program, adding recycling education to their curricula, exchanging ideas, sharing philosophies, and further promoting waste reduction efforts. The Conference & Expo featured six workshops hosted by nationally recognized organizations and speakers, as well as hands-on activities that got the students learning about recycling and waste reduction in a fun interactive way! During lunch, NRRA, and the School CLUB supporter, New Hampshire the Beautiful, presented the School CLUB Recycling Awards in front of the entire conference audience. Check out our 2016 Conference Page where we will be posting pictures from the workshops, activities and awards.
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CLUB NEWS
Welcome New CLUB Members:
Horace Mitchell Primary School, Kittery Point, ME
Photos courtesy of horacemitchell.kitteryschools.com
Horace Mitchell Primary School, Kittery Point, ME (K-3, 406 students)
HMPS is currently recycling aluminum cans, cardboard, food/yard waste, class, paper, plastic bottles, toner cartridges, and Crayola markers. Thirty students and two coordinators make up their Green Team and meet twice weekly. Their third graders have a community service project at the Town Reserve and Recovery Center.
Horace Mitchell 1857 – 1922
Horace Mitchell was public-spirited, a wise friend to education in Kittery, a patron of history, an excellent speaker, a tireless worker, simple and frank in manner and a loyal friend. His home was the Sparhawk Mansion of Kittery Point, which was built by Sir William Pepperrell for his daughter. The people of Kittery gave him the unusual honor of naming this school for him, while he was still living.
Born in Kittery Point; educations in Kittery schools; Master of Grammar Schools for 34 years; Traip Academy Trustee ; Member of School Board, Superintendent of Kittery Schools; State Representative – 1891; State Senator – 1895; Postmaster at Kittery Point; Commissioner of State Treasurer’s Accounts – 1897; Kittery Point Co-Founder of Kittery Water District; Promoter of Portsmouth Kittery and York Street Railway; Proprietor of Hotel Champernowne.
Robert Frost Public Charter School, North Conway, NH
Robert Frost Public Charter School, North Conway, NH (K-8 by 2017, 67 students)
RFPCS is already recycling paper, cardboard, plastic bottles, toner cartridges and food/yard waste.
Courtesy of Amherst.edu
Robert Frost 1874 – 1963
Robert Frost was a celebrated American poet who grew up in Derry, NH and lived in Franconia, NH.
“Robert Frost spent his first 40 years as an unknown. He exploded on the scene after returning from England at the beginning of WWI. Winner of four Pulitzer Prizes and a special guest at President John F. Kennedy’s inauguration, Frost became a poetic force and the unofficial “poet laureate” of the United States.” (Biography.com)
SWIP SWAP (Solid Waste Implementation Plan)
White River Alliance Promotes Recycling at South Royalton School
Third-graders from South Royalton Elementary try their hand at filtering water in the Heathy Home, Clean Waters Workshop.
As part of their Solid Waste Implementation Plan (SWIP), White River Solid Waste Alliance funded four NRRA (Northeast Resource Recovery Association) workshops and two technical assistance trainings for South Royalton School. The Alliance’s goal is to assist schools in their region to become compliant with Vermont’s Universal Recycling Law, Act 148.
NRRA’s School CLUB Educator, Charen Fegard, presented workshops on: Healthy Home/Clean Waters, Waste=Global Climate Change, Back to the Earth (Composting), and Recycling & Composting in Your Town. Third-graders attended the workshops, held on February 16, 18 and March 15.
Ms. Fegard conducted a training on Indoor Air Quality and Green Cleaning for the custodial staff on February 16, consisting of a comprehensive inventory and analysis of cleaning products used in the school. In addition, a STAR Assessment was done on the entire school. The STAR is NRRA’s proprietary school recycling inventory and review which identifies the five key areas of recycling. The report produced from this data offers clear, unbiased suggestions for future improvements as well as a baseline for examination of the positive effects of change.
Third-graders from South Royalton Elementary try their hand at filtering water in the Heathy Home, Clean Waters Workshop.
Special thanks to the South Royalton School teachers and staff, and especially Facilities Manager Lori Eggum and Principal Dean Stearns, for making this event successful.
The White River Solid Waste Alliance represents the towns of Barnard, Bethel, Granville, Hancock, Pittsfield, Rochester, Royalton & Stockbridge, VT. As a Member of NRRA, all schools within the Alliance are eligible for free membership in NRRA’s School Recycling CLUB and receive discounted programming.
BCSWA School & Business Outreach
The Bennington County Solid Waste Alliance serves the communities of: Arlington, Bennington, Dorset, Glastenbury, Manchester, Pownal, Rupert, Sandgate, Searsburg, Shaftsbury, Stamford, Sunderland and Woodford, VT. BCSWA has contracted NRRA and the School CLUB to provide outreach and training to schools and businesses in the Alliance area regarding Vermont’s Universal Recycling Act 148.
Most recently, school outreach is being done at Manchester Elementary with programs scheduled for Village School of North Bennington at the end of this month. Businesses located in the surrounding area of the school programs,
The Alliance website is up and running and full of useful links. Here is the link to the Alliance Webpage. They also have their own School Newsletter!
Free Workshops Available
Outreach to the Alliance schools has begun. BCSWA schools interested in receiving FREE programming for the next school year should contact: [email protected].
Speaking of Bennington County Schools . . .
From the EPA Clean, Green and Healthy Schools Update – April, 2016
EPA Rebate Will Help Arlington, Vermont Purchase a Clean Diesel School Bus (3/2016)
Over 530 school bus fleets applied to EPA’s 2015 School Bus Rebate Program, requesting over $50 million in funding. Each application was given a unique identification number and using these, applications were randomly selected and placed in order on a list.
Starting at the top of the list, funds were reserved for applicants until all funding allocated by EPA headquarters and Regions were reserved. Over $7 million was reserved for 85 applicants. The recipients are listed below. Selections with an asterisk (*) were funded by EPA Regions. Applicants who were not selected were placed on the Applicant Wait List in the random order in which they were picked.
To learn more about the Clean Diesel Rebates Program, go to: https://www.epa.gov/cleandiesel/clean-diesel-rebates
Are you a recycling instructor in need of updated curriculum?
dunnscornerschurch.org
As part of our USDA grant initiative, NRRA is seeking assistance from teachers and school administrators in the targeted regions of Carroll, Coos, and Grafton counties in NH, and Bennington, Caledonia, Essex, Franklin, and Orleans counties in VT.
NRRA is updating our Recycling Curriculum to meet the needs of Common Core. We need your help in providing professional development workshops for in-service teachers, decision makers, and department professionals to present these revisions and get your feedback.
If you or your school is interested in assisting with this project, please contact NRRA’s School CLUB at [email protected].
NRRA is an equal opportunity provider and employer.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) prohibits discrimination in all its programs and activities on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex, religion, age, disability, political beliefs, sexual orientation, and marital or family status. (Not all prohibited bases apply to all programs.) Persons with disabilities who require alternative means for communication of program information (Braille, large print, audiotape, etc.) should contact USDA’s TARGET Center at (202) 720-2600 (voice and TDD).
To file a complaint of discrimination write, USDA, Director, Office of Civil Rights, Room 326-W, Whitten Building, 14th and Independence Avenue, SW, Washington, DC 20250-9410 or call (202) 720-5964 (voice or TDD). USDA is an equal opportunity provider and employer.
Would you like to host a TOLD, Garbage Guerrillas or another Workshop at your school? Let the CLUB Help!
- Improves academic performance, especially in science and math
- Can lead to financial savings for schools
- Decreases the school’s carbon footprint through practical solutions that reduce energy and water consumption
- Reduces school waste and conserves natural resources
- Encourages student environmental awareness and stewardship
- Increases parental involvement
- Helps students and teachers develop stronger relationships with their communities
Previous EPA EE-funded research at over 200 New England schools 
completed by the NRRA School Recycling CLUB (the CLUB) found that the single most challenging area for school recycling programs was in providing curriculum integrations that brought recycling and sustainability into classrooms to be used as the subject matter for meeting state and local curriculum standards. The intention of the CLUB programs is to address just that issue in schools across all six New England states. Our goal is to use the CLUB’s workshops and technical assistance programs, all experiential and hands on, as a tool for educating K-12 students about consumption, proper diversion of waste, the resulting impacts on climate change and what they can do to change it. Through these offerings, we are also afforded the opportunity to link these priorities to curriculum standards. In addition, these workshops will model, for educators or community leaders, exemplary ways of teaching in creative, effective, and efficient methods about human health threats from environmental pollution as well as how to minimize human exposure to preserve good health. Click here to learn more or contact us at [email protected] or call 1.603.736.4401 ext. 19
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IN THE NEWS
We were so inspired by all of our student attendees at the Conference, and especially the Special Recognition Award given to Our Lady of Perpetual Help in Belle Chasse, Louisiana, that we started looking for other examples where students are making a difference. We wanted to share this article:
From our friends at Waste 360
Third grader picks up glass after city cuts curbside recycling
The city of Houston recently stopped curbside glass recycling to cut costs, but a third grader noticed.
Grace White , KHOU 10:55 AM. EST April 13, 2016
(Photo: KHOU)
HOUSTON — The city of Houston recently stopped curbside glass recycling to cut costs, but a third grader noticed.
Now he’s taking matters into his own hands to keep the glass out of landfills.
With one very old car, in a small warehouse on the east end, two guys are starting out on a big mission.
“Pan and I thought it would just be picking up recycling every two weeks in our neighborhood,” said David Krohn with Hauling Glass Houston
When the city of Houston stopped curbside glass recycling, this third grader nicknamed “Pan” noticed.
“I just found out that the recycling people didn’t take glass and I was sad,” said Tristan “Pan” Berlanga.
So this kid and his older sister’s boyfriend are launching their own recycling service.
“We are just trying to pick up glass for as many people as we can now,” Krohn said.
For $10, they’ll come every other week and pick up your glass.
“Yesterday, I got 300 emails asking us to pick up glass in their neighborhood,” Krohn said.
Right now, they’re only in zip code 77007 but are planning to expand to The Heights.
For Pan, it’s been an adventure.
“Exploring the city, meeting new people,” he said.
“We feel like it’s something that everybody kind of needs now that the city can’t make it happen,” Krohn said.
They’ll keep collecting as much as the warehouse can hold, and they’ll go as far as these old wheels will take them.
And more newsworthy students:
From our friends at Waste360
Iowa Elementary Students Create Green Future Posters for Contest
Apr 27, 2016 Mallory Szczepanski
Texas-based Red River Waste Solutions teamed up with Council Bluffs Recycling Center in Council Bluffs, Iowa, to host its fifth annual poster contest, which allows children to learn about recycling and the environment through a creative outlet.
This year, third and fourth graders from 12 local schools participated in the contest, which featured a theme of “imagine a green future.” Together, the local schools submitted 23 entries, which were reviewed and selected by the schools’ art teachers.
The 23 entries were then judged by the Council Bluffs City Council, and four winning posters were chosen to be displayed on Red River’s recycling collection trucks next year. In addition to the honorary displays, the winners also received cash prizes sponsored by Red River Waste Solutions for their schools’ art departments. First place received $1,250, second place $1,000, third place $750 and fourth place $500.
“Both the students and teachers enjoy participating in the contest, and it’s wonderful for the students to see their pictures on our recycling collection trucks,” says Council Bluffs Recycling Center Education Coordinator Shannon Meister. “Working with Red River has been a great partnership, and this program helps build ownership in both the community and recycling.”
The 2016 contest winners are:
First place: Abigail Larsen, fourth grade, College View Elementary School.
Second place: Gwenyth Sudario, fourth grade, Edison Elementary School.
Third place: Addilyn Branon, fourth grade, College View Elementary School.
Fourth place: Kevin Nguyen, fourth grade, Rue Elementary School.
The winners will also be celebrated in the upcoming Celebrate CB parade, which will include the contest winners, Council Bluffs Recycling Center staff members and a Red Rivers recycling truck outfitted with the winning posters.
All of the posters entered into the contest are currently on display at the Council Bluffs Public Library.
We thought you would enjoy this textile recycling news, which was covered in one of our Conference Workshops.
From our friends at Waste 360
Savers Builds a Clothing Spill Installation for Earth Day
Apr 27, 2016 Mallory Szczepanski
On Earth Day, global thrift retailer Savers created a clothing spill installation on Alki Beach in Seattle in an effort to get people to rethink their clothing footprint. Over 1,500 people came to view the installation, and many more participated in an Earth Day conversation via social media using #RethinkReuse.
According to the United States Environmental Protection Agency’s Sustainable Materials Management 2013 fact sheet, Americans throw away more than 10.5 million tons of clothing annually, 95 percent of which could have been reused or recycled.
For over 60 years, Savers has worked hard to reduce that number by purchasing used clothing and textiles from more than 120 nonprofit organizations to give them a second or third life in its stores or through its recycling partners.
“We created the installation because we wanted a visual representation of the clothing waste problem that would also inspire people to take action,” says Savers Vice President of Recycling and Reuse Tony Shumpert. “We believe landfills shouldn’t be laundry piles, and this installation brought that idea to life.”
To view video, click this link: https://youtu.be/Ra2FKgSa7u0
The installation, which was comprised of a selection of clothing and textiles that did not sell in Savers’ stores, was also used as a call to action for people to join Savers’ Rethink Reuse campaign.
“The Rethink Reuse initiative aims to start a dialogue and help people understand the environmental impact of waste,” says Shumpert. “Rethinking reuse includes, but is not limited to, shopping thrift, donating unwanted goods versus throwing them away and consuming in a more responsible way.”
All of the clothing and textile items that were used in the installation have been sent back to a Savers recycling center, and the retailer plans on reusing the items for a similar installation in Toronto in June to get more people to rethink about the way they buy, use and recycle clothing.
In addition to its Rethink Reuse campaign and other ongoing recycling and waste-reduction efforts, Savers is truly focused on diverting reusable goods from entering the landfill.
“Together with our nonprofit partners, we divert more than 650 million pounds of reusable goods from landfills each year,” says Shumpert.
Those who heard our Board President, Duncan Watson, speak at the School CLUB Awards Luncheon, will recognize some of his points in this next article.
From our friends at EcoWatch
Jeff Bridges video on the dangers of plastics
Jeff Bridges: Plastic Is a Substance the Earth Cannot Digest
Plastic Pollution Coalition | March 30, 2016 11:27 am |
Jeff Bridges knows that plastic is a substance the Earth cannot digest. Worldwide reliance on disposable plastic packaging and utensils is poisoning our bodies, killing wildlife and overwhelming our planet. Single-use plastic deepens our dependence on fossil fuels, contributing to climate change and further harming our most at-risk communities.
The global problem of unnecessary plastics was demonstrated perfectly when a Whole Foods grocer in California was called out for selling pre-peeled oranges in plastic deli containers—and at $6 a pound. “Orangegate” quickly spread on social media when PPC re-posted a photo of the oranges, which reached more than 1 million people on Facebook. To their credit, Whole Foods responded within two days by pulling the oranges from their shelves and issuing an apology on Twitter.
Still, consumers can find today everything from plastic-wrapped single bananas to individually wrapped jelly beans on store shelves. We hope Bridges’ message in our Open Your Eyes video, which was first released in September 2015 and has been updated for re-release this week, will prompt consumers and retailers to open their eyes and demand reductions in plastic waste.
Watch here: https://youtu.be/9znvqIkIM-A
Bridges, in the following interview, shared his own growing awareness of the plastic pollution problem.
Plastic Pollution Coalition: What motivates your long-standing support of Plastic Pollution Coalition, including lending your voice to our new video?
Jeff Bridges: My father Lloyd Bridges worked on a TV show called Sea Hunt. He impressed upon me as a child the importance of taking care of the ocean and working together to do our part to reduce human pollution. Also, that we are all interconnected and responsible for the oceans around the world.
Plastic Pollution Coalition: What about your own awareness regarding plastic—specifically, when did it begin and why?
Jeff Bridges: It began with Plastic Pollution Coalition turning me onto what a stupid idea plastic drinking water bottles are.
Plastic Pollution Coalition: What changes have you made to reduce your plastic footprint?
Jeff Bridges: Personally, I do my best to drink my water out of metal containers. I use Plastic Pollution Coalition “Rethink” bottles often. My family and I don’t purchase plastic water bottles at the store. We have a water filtration system to fill up our bottles.
Plastic Pollution Coalition: On tour with Chris Pelonis and out with the Abiders? On set?
Jeff Bridges: When I’m working, on sets or stages, my contracts specify in the rider that no plastic bottles be used. When I’m playing with my band, we all use metal and non-plastic containers for drinking to be ecologically sensitive and show others that this is the way to go.
Plastic Pollution Coalition: What are three easy first steps you abide by and recommend for someone wanting to start out on the path toward a life with less single-use plastic?
Jeff Bridges: 1. Get off plastic water bottles. 2. Get into metal or glass bottles. 3. Get a cloth shopping bag.
Plastic Pollution Coalition: Any thoughts or observations that you’d like to share about the issue of plastic pollution, alternatives and solutions?
Jeff Bridges: The way to change the world is through individual responsibility and taking local action in your own community. If everyone around the world did this, it would be the first step in solving the problem.
Results of the Kuttlefish iFixit E-waste Challenge:
Here are the pictures of the winning entries of iFixit’s 2016 Earth Day E-waste Challenge!
Congratulations to our first place winner, Maurizio Sergiusti. Check out two of his entries above, including his E-Waste Whale which took the grand prize.
Second place went to Noah Minner – Hedgehog made from triangularly cut CD strips, capacitors and glued to used aluminum foil. Four screws for the feet.
Third place went to Terri Buchardt – Two fun and funky necklaces made from a broken laptop’s circuit boards and keyboard keys. Reboot how you think of computers and jewelry!
For the full story, click HERE!
cliparts.co
Interested in green cleaning? If you would like to host a workshop in your school, please consider The CLUB’s Healthy Home, Clean Waters Workshop or our Technical Assistance Training for facilities staff on Green Cleaning & Indoor Air Quality Evaluation & Review.
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Contests, Scholarships & Fundraisers
Sunoco Rewards Scholarships
We are now accepting applications for our 2016 Sunoco Rewards scholarships. This year, Sunoco is offering two $1,000.00 scholarships to two future marketers.
Creative Design Scholarship
One of the ways that we communicate with our customers at our Sunoco stations is through point-of-purchase (POP) signage.
Two of our highly visible POP are the Perimeter Pole Sign (PPS) and the Pump Topper Sign (PTS). The PPS is placed in large frames along the exterior of our station lots. The PTS sits in a frame on every pump at many of our stations.
As future graphic designers, we would like to see what type of creative concepts you can develop for our retail POP around our high quality fuels.
Learn more about our creative design scholarship.
Digital Marketing Scholarship
With nearly 75% of adults in the United States using sites like Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Pinterest, it is no surprise that Social Media has become an integral part of brand marketing. Marketers around the world continue to grapple with how best to use these evolving networks to reach the markets where they operate daily.
Digital Marketers are always looking for new tactics and platforms to help them connect and communicate with consumers. We would like to see a digital marketing campaign that could be implemented for Sunoco Racing.
Learn more about our digital marketing scholarship.
The deadline for both scholarships is May 31st, 2016.
If you have any questions, please contact us at [email protected].
Here is the link to the Sunoco Scholarship page.
$$$$$$$$$$ Other School Grant Opportunities $$$$$$$$$$
(Collected from NWF Eco-Schools Newsletter – August, 2015)
http://www.nwf.org/Eco-Schools-USA/Newsletter.aspx?s_email_id=20150819_ECO_ENG_Educators|#schoolyardhabitats
DonorsChoose.org – Can list on site up to 4 months
http://www.donorschoose.org/about
Helps classrooms and students in need
DoSomething.org offers many ways to earn scholarship money.
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EPA & NHDES NEWS
From our Friends at EPA
2016 PEYA AWARD WINNERS
Meet our new student award winners
Yesterday, EPA announced the winners of the 2015 President’s Environmental Youth Award. This year, EPA is honoring 18 projects in which students have demonstrated exceptional leadership, initiative, creativity, and commitment to environmental stewardship. Winning projects represent 14 states and include a wide variety of activities such as creating a new eco-friendly fertilizer, fighting deforestation, and analyzing the impact of solar panel installation.
The PEYA program recognizes outstanding environmental projects by K-12 youth. The program promotes awareness of our nation’s natural resources and encourages involvement in the community. Details on the new winners and the program are available at: https://www.epa.gov/education/presidents-environmental-youth-award.
The application period for the next round of the PEYA will open later this spring.
EPA REGION 1: Nutrasafe: Creating an Eco-Friendly Plant Food for the Environment, CT; The Plant Phenoms
To see the complete list of winners, click HERE.
NH Envirothon 2016 – Invasive Species
2016 NH Envirothon is here!
Competition Day will be Tuesday, May 24, at McLane Audubon Center, Concord, NH.
Current Issue Challenge: Invasive Species
Registration Form
From our friends at EPA – WW and FRC Email 4-27-16
The Extraordinary Life and Times of a Strawberry
Adele Peters 04.20.16 11:57 AM
Before the strawberries forgotten in the back of your fridge sprouted a layer of mold and ended up in the trash, they had a life. A clever new ad tells the backstory of a single berry from the field to a store to a garbage can, in an attempt to make more people think about food waste.
Video Link: https://youtu.be/WREXBUZBrS8
“We chose to tell the story of a piece of fruit to try and make people relate at an emotional level rather than purely an intellectual one,” says Matthew Atkatz, executive creative director at SapientNitro, the agency that developed the ad pro bono for an Ad Council campaign. “We imagined a fantasy like a kids animated film, but told in real life from the food’s point of view.”
The ad is part of a larger campaign called Save the Food, made with the Natural Resources Defense Council, which studies the environmental impacts of food waste. An uneaten strawberry, for example, wastes water, fertilizer, and fuel; globally, if food waste was a country, it would have the largest carbon footprint in the world after the U.S. and China. 40% of all food grown in the U.S. is trashed. “Consumers are actually the largest source of food waste, so creating awareness around wasting less food is a way to target that directly,” says Dana Gunders, senior scientist at NRDC.
Though the issue of food waste has been getting more attention—the Obama Administration announced the country’s first-ever food waste reduction goal in 2015—the team saw an opportunity to reach more people. “In our research, we saw that food waste is just beginning to become part of our national conversation,” Atkatz says. “If we can raise awareness and help people save in their households, our hope is that it will have a ripple-effect across all aspects of our food supply.”
From our friends at the EPA – Clean, Green & Healthy Schools Update – April 2016 – to subscribe, contact: [email protected]
2016 Walk to School (Oct. 5)
(Reader Note: Bike to School was May 4)
The National Center for Safe Routes to School coordinates registration for Walk to School Day and maintains the http://www.walkbiketoschool.org website with funding from the U.S. Department of Transportation Federal Highway Administration (FHWA). For International Bike/Walk to School Day information in your state, please see:
o CT: https://www.youtube.com/user/CTSRTS
o MA: http://www.saferoutesinfo.org/program-tools/find-state-contacts/massachusetts
o ME: http://www.maine.gov/mdot/bikeped/saferoutes/
o NH: http://www.nh.gov/dot/org/projectdevelopment/planning/srts/
o RI: http://www.planning.ri.gov/statewideplanning/transportation/routestoschool.php
o VT: http://saferoutes.vermont.gov/
Safe Routes to School
Students shown in the photo above are crossing a bridge over the Ammonoosuc River as they bicycle to the Mildred C. Lakeway Elementary School in Littleton. The school is one of many that have been awarded startup grants, as well as a general grant in Round 5. Communities can apply for startup and travel plan grants whenever they are ready to move ahead.
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ACTIVITY
Recycling Plastic Lids to Make Bracelets
So many attendees commented on our Bracelet Making Activity at the Conference that we thought we would re-post it again in this newsletter. We’ve added some tips at the end, based on our own experience.
How to Make a Friendship Bracelet
with a Recycled Plastic Lid
by Pauline Molinari • February 12, 2014 
http://club.chicacircle.com/how-to-make-a-friendship-bracelet-with-a-recycled-plastic-lid/
Friendship bracelets are totally in, but all the fancy kits to make them can be costly! There’s a better way to make intricate, colorful bracelets for kids. If you want to learn how to make a friendship bracelet with a recycled lid, here’s a fast, easy method that will have kids weaving beautiful jewelry for themselves and their friends! These DIY friendship bracelets only require two things, an old plastic lid and multicolored string, so no need to worry about scrambling for materials. And they make great gifts for anyone!
Materials: Recycled Crafts, Mixed Media/Miscellaneous
Age Group: Elementary School, Pre-Teens, Teens
Time to complete: One hour
It’s super simple to make a pretty friendship bracelet with the use of a recycled plastic lid.
All you need to make your own friendship bracelet:
• 7 strands of embroidery thread (colors of choice) – I cut mine to 18″ long each
• Recycled plastic lid – I used an oatmeal container lid
• Scissors to turn your lid into a homemade weaving wheel
Here is how to make the wheel:
• First cut 8 notches around your plastic lid with a sharp scissors. I measured it like a clock face starting with 12 and 6, and then 3 and 9, finishing up with notches in-between those four.
• Then I cut a small hole in the center of the lid. That’s it! Now your wheel is ready.
Preparing materials for weaving the bracelet:
• With your 7 strands of embroidery thread, tie them together on one end with a basic knot.
• Holding the knot in the middle, string the 7 strings into 7 of the 8 slits you made on your wheel. Now you are ready to start weaving.
Here is how you weave your friendship bracelet:
When you have your bracelet at the desired length, simply remove from your wheel and tie another knot on the end.
Give to a friend, or enjoy on your own wrist!
Tips:
- Not all lids make the best bracelet wheels. We found that a smaller cheese or margarine spread lid worked very well; especially if there was a harder outer ring which is carefully cut so as not to cut the inner, softer lid surface (which had a tendency to tear).
- If your lid begins to tear at the notches, simply put a small piece of duct tape on the underside to prevent further tearing.
- Keep a finger on the knot on the underside so that it does not pop back through to the “working” surface.
- We used 20 lbs. cord with natural colors, rather than embroidery thread which seemed a little thin and was dyed to color.
- Keep all of your cords taut as you work around the wheel
Special thanks to Donna and Cindy and Lisa who helped make extra bracelets to give out at the Conference!
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GREEN CALENDAR
06/05/16 – World Environment Day – To plan your event, visit www.unep.org.
06/08/16 – World Oceans Day – To plan your event, visit www.worldoceansday.org.
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WHAT IS YOUR SCHOOL CLUB UP TO? The NRRA School CLUB always loves to hear what its members and other schools are doing to recycle and help the environment so we can share it through our newsletter. There are so many different things being done, and you are our best source of information about what is working in your school. It can be a new program, a long-term project that’s been proven over time, a field trip, etc. Always feel free to contact me or submit something and you may see it in the next School News You Can Use! – Gwen Erley, [email protected] 1-603-736-4401 Ext. 19