November 23, 2008 - 2:13pm — GreenTeensJessie
A Few Past Events
Some Past Green Teen Projects:
1. The Youth Eco-Bag Booth: Green Teens has visited Center Elementary School (Willington, CT) twice promoting the use of Eco-Bags. We have also held a similar workshop at Ashford Family Day & an Ashford Craft Camp (Ashford, CT), as well as at the Columbia Congregational Church (Columbia, CT). At each workshop the Green Teens first give a presentation on the importance of making environmental choices. These are simple, basic changes that even young children can make (i.e. shutting off the water while brushing teeth, turning off the lights when leaving a room, etc.). Then, the group focuses in on the importance of using an Eco-Bag. We get the kids involved in the conversation in order to hold their attention, as well as share stories (like the jellyfish eating turtles) that give positive examples of Eco-Bag use. Next, we supply each child with their very own, plain Eco-Bag and a surplus of art supplies. We allow the children to each make their own bag (most end up with an environmental message!!) and then take it home to share with their family!
2. Environmental Presentations: Green Teens works with the community to spread environmental awareness however we can! Whenever the opportunity arises we give small speeches or presentations to community members highlighting the importance of environmental protection and what each family can do to help out!
3. Tag-Sale/Recycling Center Fundraisers: Green Teens has made appearances at the local flea market as a means to raise money. Our goal is to make it a yearly occurrence to gather up all of our old, good-condition toys/books/etc. and sell them, tag-sale style, in order to raise money for the club!
4. Tree Planting: Green Teens has already donated two native maple trees to the town of Ashford. Unfortunately, since our area is so wooded not many public places want more trees. We are working to find other areas in need of some shade, and hope to plant more trees (hopefully in some cities) in the coming years.
5. CFL Exchange: In April, 2008 Green Teens held a CFL Exchange in honor of Earth Day. We purchased CFLs at a discounted price, and then turned them over to the public for free, on one condition: they proved they recycled their old incandescent bulbs! How did we do this? Simple! Since most area towns do not easily recycle incandescent bulbs, Green Teens set up an exchange, with the help of Northeast Lamp Recycling and the Town of Mansfield, CT. The group members allowed the public to bring in their old/used incandescent bulbs in exchange for CFL lights (yes, free of charge!!). The group handed out over 250 CFLs and collected over 350 CFLs (many people brought in all that they had).
Pictures and descriptions of these, and other, Green Teen events can be found under the images & video sections of this page.