All students, K through 8, will participate in scouring the 11 acres of the Park City Day School sagebrush open space. Park City Day School conducts the school-wide trash collection every year, with 350 pounds collected last year. Fifth-grader Paul McGinn explained:
"We got a scale and weighed all the trash. Actually, there were so many bags of trash we had to have an entire group of people keeping track and another group of people putting the trash on the scale. There were people who were separating it and making piles of recycling, trash, compost, what can go to recycle Utah, and stuff that just has to go to the landfill. And so, everyone was doing their part.”
Eighth-grade Student John McGinn said it is surprising what people find there.
“Yes. Last year one of my friends found a $20 bill.”
This year the eighth-grade class is working on a project to create more hands-on learning outside.
“We're making a nature walk, and we're creating signs about like what kind of plants, what kind of animals and all that kind of stuff is there. So younger students can learn about what is here in Park City next to our school.”
Director of Curriculum and Instruction Robin McGinn, the students’ mom, said students and teachers study climate and ecology issues year-round. She said students learn about the effects of plastics in the water and food supply and how that affects the environment. One of the school objectives is to build community awareness about plastics and the harm to ecosystems.”
"Speaking of the landfill, our seventh graders are going, and they’re really excited for that field trip. They're going to get to see how the waste is managed here where they live, and you know, see the end result of what happens when you actually throw something in the garbage, which is always a really impactful field trip.”
The trash pick-up day is scheduled for Friday, April 22, but if the weather is very wet, they’ll postpone so the fragile early plant growth is not disturbed. Find pictures of last year’s event on KPCW.org.
