Harmony School won the Group Project Award fro the Midlands 2018 RETHINK Contest. Students made life-size models of four local species of owls and shared detailed research about each one. In addition, their teacher Jennifer Mancke, entertained us all with a Native American tale about why owls are nocturnal. 
Tag Archives: #RICH
Plastic Bag PomPoms
Students at St. John Neumann Catholic School made PomPoms from used plastic grocery bags for a recent celebration.
Two Winning Projects
Two winning projects for the annual Midlands RETHINK contest came from these 6th-grade students from Longleaf Middle School. Projects were judged on the students’ research and presentation about local species of owls as well as the students’ upcycled projects of their chosen owl.
Plarn
55 10th-12th grade students at Cardinal Newman HS are working to create and crochet plastic bag yarn into bedrolls from Columbia’s homeless. Team moderator, Lara Druffner, writes “This project serves two wonderful purposes: keeping reusable materials out of the landfills and giving a dry, lightweight and warm sleeping mat to those in need. Win/Win”
Award Winners
Congratulations to all the schools honored at our recent annual Midlands Green Step Award/Train/Update Session.
Pictured here are team leaders from Catawba ES, Meadow Glen ES and Harmony School.
Bedrolls
Montessori students at Pontiac ES recently presented 4 bedrolls to the Midlands Operation Bedroll project. Students made the plarn (plastic bag yarn) then enlisted help to crochet the bedrolls. Way to go Pontiac Montessori!!
Vermi Compost
Green Steps Mentor, Chanda Cooper, taught Kindergarten students at A.C. Moore ES to make a vermi habitat with a used styrofoam cooler, damp torn newspapers, and some wonderful red wiggler worms.
Field Trip
Fifth-grade students and their teachers enjoyed an in-school field trip to learn about reducing, reusing, recycling composting and how recycling is sorted at their local MRF (Material Recovery Facility). They also learned how run-off pollution impacts their local watershed. Guest speakers included Janice Allen, Jane Hiller, and Chanda Cooper.
Planting
Students, faculty, and parents at Caughman Road Elementary School are excited about their 2018 spring harvest and their new raised vegetable beds ready for fall planting.
Plarn
“6th-grade students at the new Midlands Arts Conservatory are cutting unwanted plastic bags to make plarn (plastic bag yarn) with Artist in Residence, Flavia Lovatelli.”