Earth week took a deeper dive than trash pickup and recycling this week at Concordia Elementary School. With a multi-faceted approach to communicating its importance to the environment, Girl Scout Troop 3443 in San Clemente helped educate their whole school on food waste composting, kicking off implementation of state law AB 1826 – California’s Commercial Organics Recycling Law. There were many facets to the project including research via interviews with the adults involved, designing a logo, creating a slogan, public speaking and finally roll out. These steps and the lasting impact of the project are earning the Troop their Girl Scout Bronze Award – the highest honor a Girl Scout Junior can achieve.
“These fifth graders have worked really hard on this project,” said Concordia Principal Rob McKane, “it is going impressively well and they have been great role models rolling it out.” Their teachers have also been supportive having just come back from science camp in the Big Bear area and learned about a zero waste approach. “This dovetails well with our science curriculum” noted 5th Grade Teacher Teri Turner, “we are so glad the girls are doing it!”
The project is focused on unused food from student lunches and four new garbage cans painted with a troop-designed logo are used to collect leftover lunch foods from students every day. The lunch food is then picked up by a special CR&R truck and is composted in either Orange or Perris, California compost hubs. Keeping food out of the landfill is a win on many levels: it will reduce landfill contributions by an estimated 20%, reduce harmful methane gas, and create nutrient-rich compost fertilizer for food production.
Aside from custom painted-collection cans, the girls spoke with each class at the school, painted posters with their own slogan “A clean school is a cool school,” distributed a 6-minute film for teachers to show upper classes and are assisting students in separating food waste from wrappers at lunch every day during earth week. “It’s actually gone much better than we thought,” said custodian Ramon Reyes, “the girls prepared everyone so well that it’s pretty easy.”
Article and Photo Credit: Jen Moffroid
Girl Scout Troop Co-Leader
Troop 3443
