Cincinnati school
Saint Ursula Students Take On Waste Reduction
I love hearing about young people growing by practicing and learning about how they can contribute to strengthening their community. At Saint Ursula Academy in Cincinnati, one way students are doing that is through their Earth Club. The group has implemented a “reduce/are-use/recycle program that has made a HUGE impact at the school and has dramatically decreased the amount of trash generated. Skye Toomey, a senior this 
year, wrote about her experience in the Earth Club and why it is important to her.
In her own words…
“Here at Saint Ursula Academy, we take our mission to build a better world seriously. Amongst the many ways that we achieve this is through our Earth Club and “Green Team”. The Green Team consists of members from the Earth Club as well as students taking the AP Environmental Sciences elective. The Earth Club’s mission is to promote environmentalism and natural resources through understanding our environment and our impact upon it as human beings.
One of the ways that the Earth Club has implemented its mission is through the Composting, Recycling, and Upcycling system. Over the course of the First Semester of the 2017- 2018 school year (August 10-December 19) we have sorted our lunch trash into landfill, compost, upcycling, and recycling categories. We as a school have also implemented reusable dishes to further cut down on waste. Here are some of the statistics that show how successful this program has been at reducing our waste:
- 85 composting days (24 lbs/day average) = 2,040 pounds
- 85 upcycling days = 50 pounds of packaging upcycled (soft plastics, foil-lined granola bar wrappers and chip bags)
- (Recycling program already in place before grant; the new waste reduction initiative ensures that recycling is now properly sorted)
- Disposable plates saved: 150/day x 85 days = 12,750 plates
- Disposable cups saved: 100/cups x 85 days = 8,500 cups
- Disposable silverware saved: 150 pieces/days x 85 days = 12,750 silverware
Total pounds of waste diverted (from last year as well)
- 3,216 pounds of compost diverted
- 74 pounds of upcycling diverted
I have been a member of the Earth Club for my entire 4 years at St. Ursula. For the last two of those years, I have been in a leadership position. To see such a huge success in this endeavor is really exciting to me. Every day at lunch, two to three girls from the Earth Club or one of the AP Environmental Science classes monitor the recycling program at lunch and also answer questions about what can be composted versus thrown out, or recycled versus upcycled. This helps to educate our fellow classmates as well as ensuring that each item ends up in the right spot. We all sign up for lunch days voluntarily, and everyone really enjoys it.
Why is this important to me? Well, I was raised by my mother who is an active environmentalist and has taught me to respect the environment from the very beginning of my life. She instilled in me a sense of awe at the wonder of nature and a sense of ownership for the stewardship of our planet. I hope to be able to make a difference or to educate others through this recycling program, or any of the other wonderful things we do here at Saint Ursula to make the world a little bit better, because every little bit helps.”
~ Skye Toomey
A Teacher’s Perspective On The Needs At Oyler School
It is during the holiday seasons when we are reminded the most of how kindness, compassion and love can boost spirits and change lives. While we are celebrating with our families, it is important to remember there are adults, parents, families and children who are struggling to have their basic needs met. We need to keep them in our hearts but we also need to reach out and give as we can to help eachother – a few coins in the kettles, food for meals, gifts for wishlists, your donated time through a social service agency or simply helping a neighbor or friend, even a simple smile can make all the difference.
A teacher, at Oyler School in Cincinnati’s Lower Price Hill Danielle Codling-Mangano wrote for a parenting group about her observations of the impact of kindness on students there. (I am reprinting it with her permission.) Please take a few moments to read her note. And, if you feel moved to make a donation, please contact the school at (513) 363-4100.
“Today was amazing. The staff and an army of moms arrived and worked to get the room organized. We sorted bags and boxes of clothes. We tried to cozy the boiler room with the posters kids made and put a rug down so they could sit on something comfy while waiting to shop. We also put out some fresh fruit for kids…
Let’s start there. We had a seven year old sing a song about getting a banana! Did anyone eat their bananas or cuties? No they packed them… probably for hungrier times but they were very happy to get fruit! Access to fresh produce is very limited Lower Price Hill it is classified as a food dessert.
The book that a 6th grade girl had donated from CMH was given to a fantastic young lady!!! Her face lit up like a Christmas tree when I told her a 6th grader from another school wanted a nice student at Oyler to have it. She told me she would pass it to friend when she is done. She was reading it walking up the stairs!
We had some staff at Oyler come to shop for kids who were too embarrassed to come down themselves.
The staff was looking for a double stroller for an 18 year student who just had her second baby. Someone called me to say, for that student’s birthday her mom gave her $150 to spend on kids at Oyler! This mother of two will be picking up a double stroller at Once Upon a Child tomorrow, which also means the young lady will be able to bring her kids to daycare at school and finish her studies and graduate. Today she couldn’t bring her one year old because she only has a single stroller.
I helped a 10 year old boy who the staff identified as “having nothing” get some clothes. In this district that label means a lot. He was wearing a short sleeve shirt and pants that didn’t fit. Every time he tried something on that fit, his face went into a smile that just melted me. He was thrilled to have a coat, socks, pants that fit and a sweet down vest that one of you donated. He asked me after filling up his bag if he could keep it all. I said yes and shamelessly asked if he wanted a hug… He did… SO AWESOME…
We had a preschool class come through that couldn’t be cuter… some were wearing shoes about two sizes too small.. one boy had a huge hole in his jeans and mud caked on them..Though these little ones had little material things they had a lot of smiles!! They were so happy to get new clothes, etc…
I saw friends helping kids frustrated when they couldn’t find the sizes kids needed…However we had a list and guess what tomorrow they will receive PJ’s and things that they needed! A friend who was there for the first time today… left and began to shop around she dropped off bags full of clothes at my house… more people offered support via text….! Oyler’s community bucket is overflowing with love and compassion from you!!!!
We had a staff member come close to tears expressing her complete awe for all that you are doing for this community!!”
