Photograph by Kathy De La Torre

Students from Pilar Gray's sixth-grade class at Fisher Middle School sweep through the school grounds on a recycling mission.

Fisher's environmental class leaves school campus clean

Mini-grant helped purchase materials

By Leigh Ann Maze

A wave of sixth-grade students in Pilar Gray's class at Fisher Middle School rushed out of the classroom just after 2 p.m. on Dec. 7. It wasn't a fire drill or the end of class; it was time to do the schools' recycling.

Since Gray was hired at the school this fall, she has created a new quarter-long class with an environmental theme and taken the reins of the school's languishing recycling program.

The students worked quickly and efficiently, hauling the recycling bins to the back of the school, emptying any half-full soda cans and tossing them into a large dumpster, assisted by campus supervisor Xavier Cook. The entire process was completed in less than 20 minutes.

"They've got it down to an art," Gray said, adding that the students take care of the recycling at least twice a week. "The kids drink a lot of soda on this campus; we recycle hundreds of cans."

The recycling program is a hands-on learning experience that complements the class curriculum. "I try to teach them why it matters. I don't think people realize what a difference a little bit of recycling can make," Gray said.

Although recycling is only a small part of the class, which covers energy use, water conservation, population, pesticides and more, it is obvious that Gray's words have had an impact.

"We learn that the energy saved from every can recycled is worth three hours of watching television," student Patricia Thompson said as she tossed cans into the dumpster. Her latex gloves were covered with soda.

"Because aluminum and metal don't break down easily, we have to recycle them and keep using what we have," student Jonathan Moultrup said.



The students not only learn how they are helping the environment, but also earn money by recycling. The money is donated to the Dad's Club to fund campus improvements and beautification. The Dad's Club comprises about 50 parent volunteers who use the money for various projects that benefit the students and the school. Among their projects this year, the Dad's Club is building bookshelves, installing a rooftop weather station and creating a locked storage area in the girls locker room.

In the past, about one-third of the Dad's Club's annual $3,000 budget came from the school's volunteer recycling program--but last year most of the school's cans were stolen before they could be redeemed for cash. "We really missed the money last year," Dad's Club chairman Walter Downey said. "This year, recycling is in full swing again; Gray has revived the whole thing."

This year the youngsters already have redeemed a dumpster's worth of cans, which they now keep in a padlocked dumpster. Gray has not yet received a check, but she is itching to find out how much their consistent recycling efforts are bringing in.

Gray also received a $1,000 mini-grant from the Los Gatos Elementary Education Fund this month to purchase supplies for her class, such as environmental education books and trash bags and latex gloves for the students' recycling efforts.

According to Principal Cullen Hewitt, Gray will have put about 100 students through the new class and recycling program in a year.

Gray said she hopes the class continues in the future. "The program will be more successful as upper graders will have gone through the work process, and they'll be more cooperative about supporting the effort," she said.

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