We are so excited and proud of our group! We are one of the 2008 Johnie Forte, Jr. Memorial Grant Award winners. See the complete list of winners at
http://www.cleanfairfaxcouncil.org/forte.htm.Many thanks to the Clean Fairfax Council, the Fairfax County Solid Waste Management Program, Fairfax County Wastewater Management and Vantria Federal Credit Union for contributing to this year's grant program and making it possible.
Our project is to beautify our neighborhood by picking up litter around the school and near our homes and create signs that encourage students to put trash and recyclables in their place and not on the ground.
We ordered some litter grabbers in bright red and yellow. The manufacturer even put labels on them with sayings like, "Keeping Our Forest Clean" and "You Can Make A Difference." Off we went to the field at the back of the school with a bag designated for trash and one for recyclables. The kids had a blast finding all sorts of things on the ground and then deciding whether to drop them in the trash bag or the recyclable bag. When we made our way to the playground, the kids playing asked if they could help too. They improvised, using sticks to pick up litter. It's great to see the excitement of taking care of our Earth spread to others.
One of the requirements of the grant program is that we give a presentation on our winning project. We invite you to come to the Earth Day/Arbor Day Celebration at the Northern Virginia Community College, Annandale Campus on April 19th. The award ceremony is at 1:00 p.m.
Here's more info about the Earth Day/Arbor Day Celebration:
http://www.fairfaxcounty.gov/dpwes/publications/recycling/event-earth.pdf
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _