Can-Do Kids!
Posted at 1:29 pm May 4, 2005 by Debbie Andreen
What a pleasure it was to sit among kids who care! Sure, lots of people (children and adults) talk about helping the environment or wildlife, but these students actually did something about it—they participated in our Cans for Critters program.
A Jamboree was held for the top collectors at each participating school at the Zoo’s Wegeforth Bowl on April 29. The students got to watch a special animal show starring Akela the timber wolf and his dog pal, Nala, and Nelson and Jake, two active and photogenic California sea lions.
Awards were handed out to the three students who collected the most cans and the three schools that brought in the most money. Nineteen participating schools brought in a grand total of $12,925.33 during the four-month recycling program—that’s a lot of cans and a lot of work! That whopping total benefits the San Diego Zoo’s department of Conservation and Research for Endangered Species (CRES).
Miller Elementary School in San Diego took top honors by collecting $1,389. Ms. Debi Iannizzotto (Mrs. I. to her 4th-grade students) brought the Cans for Critters program to her school 16 years ago, and says each year more and more students participate. She uses songs, posters, skits, and more to motivate the kids to take part in the recycling effort. As a thank you, the school will receive pizza and a free animal assembly program.
The top student collector this year was Erik Vanderheiden, a third-grade student at Miller Elementary. Erik began his can-collecting career as a kindergartner, and placed third in the Cans for Critters program at the ripe age of 6! This year he beat the competition by collecting 5,568 cans. This master recycler modestly shared the secret to his success: ask everyone—family and neighbors—to save their cans. His thank-you gifts included plush animals, gift certificates, and a kiss from Nelson the sea lion.
On behalf of wildlife everywhere, I want to thank all of the students, teachers, and parents who helped get those cans and bottles out of landfills and turned them into money that will be used to help animals both near and far. You CAN make a difference!
Here’s information about the Cans for Critters program.
Debbie Andreen is the San Diego Zoo’s Web Site editor.
You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Comments are currently closed. Pinging is not allowed.
