Every year during the spring, the Chula Vista Elementary School District hosts a speech contest with students from various schools in the district participating.
Last year Natalie Wright, a then-fifth grader at Rosebank Elementary School, tried out for the contest with a speech about the importance of recycling.
Unfortunately for her she wasn’t selected to participate in the speech contest as she finished second among her class.
Only students who finished in first place are invited to participate at the annual contest.
But her speech won the heart of her teacher, who informed the school principal about the speech and had her recite it late last year with a Power Point presentation for Rosebank’s Parent Teacher Association.
“I will innovate by starting a recycling contest between the schools in the Chula Vista Elementary School District to keep recyclables out of our landfills,” said an excerpt from the speech.
“Did you know it takes 80 to 100 years for aluminium cans to break down and 700 years for plastic bottles? So if Christopher Columbus had placed a plastic bottle in the ground in 1492 when he discovered America, it would still be here today. Think about how long that is!”
Natalie said she did her speech on recycling because she thought she could make a difference. She also said she didn’t think her speech would become a reality.
Then on Aug. 7, because of Natalie’s speech, Rosebank Elementary, with the backing of the PTA, created a recycling program for its students.
“The kids have a location here at the school where they can drop off their recycling,” said Shannon Wright, a member of the PTA and Natalie’s mother. “We ask them just to bag it up and bring in plastic bottles and cans from home.”
The PTA parents help take the recyclables to the recycling center.
In the first four weeks of the program, the school has collected about 8,516 recyclables worth about $389, Wright said.
“It’s turned out to be lucrative for the school but the kids are getting excited about it too,” she said.
The school is currently in discussion with the PTA to decide how to spend the money they received from recycling.
Students who choose to recycle get points for a certain amount of bottles and cans they recycle.
Those points can be saved up for prizes such as a no homework pass, a certificate or a spirit stick.
Currently 65 K-6 students with some classrooms are participating in recycling. Wright said the level of participation among the students is growing.
Fourth-grader Anika Castro said she recycles because it helps the environment.
“I like saving the planet,” she said. “I like to reuse things.”
Jadon Taylor, a first-grader, said, “I recycle at home and I help my school.”
Natalie said she enjoys recycling.
“I like to use the three Rs,” she said, “recycle, reduce and reuse.”
For the first month the school wanted to kick off the program to see which classroom could recycle the most. In total, the top class collected 1,062 recyclable cans and plastic bottles.
The kids aren’t the only ones catching the recycling bug.
“This morning I saw parents coming on campus with bags,” said principal Chris Vickers.
Vickers called the program a “win-win” because students become educated about the importance of recycling while earning money for the school and doing a good deed for the environment.
He said this is the first time that he can remember Rosebank having a recycling program.
This is Natalie’s last year at Rosebank as she will attend middle school next year. Vickers said despite Natalie leaving the school, the recycling program is here to stay.
“The goal is that this initiative can continue,” he said. “There’s a lot of rich traditions here that Rosebank takes a lot of pride in, and I see this as just maybe another tradition that has started. We’re on the verge of another tradition that’s part of the Rosebank culture.”
