recycling, leadership, and spring!
March 4, 2010
Hello again fellow service-enthusiasts! Have you been bit by the Spring bug yet? It’s closer than ever! I was reading through our submissions and loved this one from Matthew in the Minneapolis Public Schools. Recycling projects are so great to get our kids involved in! And what a great way for them to work on their leadership skills. Sometimes the service we do is two-fold. Recycling, leadership and spring certainly sounds like a good mix for today. Thanks to Nathan for the story!
Enjoy your weekend, see you back here for more great stories and reflections soon!
Matthew Weld is a second year VISTA serving in the Volunteer MPS program at Minneapolis Public Schools. This year Matt has been working at Northeast Middle School in Northeast Minneapolis. Tasked with bringing the school up to speed with a new district organic recycling initiative, Matt has been pivotal in making Northeast Middle School a greener place. “Let’s R.O.T.” (Reduce Our Trash) started strong in late September, and has only grown stronger.
One way that Matt’s made this possible is by involving the school’s 30 student council members as lunchtime recycling assistants. As student body leaders, council members enjoy helping their fellow students learn the R.O.T. ropes by taking the opportunity to both explain recycling to their peers and to train their classmates in the proper sorting of organics and mixed recycling in the cafeteria. The result is a school of some 500 students and more than 50 staff all recycling their organics, every day
-Nathan Magel, VISTA Leader, Minneapolis Public Schools
