Green in Action Honorary Mention
EcoKnights of Vanguard High School
Ocala, FL
The EcoKnights is the ecology club at Vanguard High School. The members supervise and perform all of the recycling for the faculty, staff and students on a weekly basis. The club members offer a pick-up service for all non-paper recyclables (batteries, electronics, cd/dvd discs, glass, plastic, even tennis balls!) and they empty the paper recycling containers in each classroom. The club placed plastic/aluminium recycle containers in the cafeteria and around our campus several years ago and maintains these.
Earth Day is a special event for the EcoKnights. The members post flyers and give away stickers – even high school kids like stickers. We also play their “Think Green” power point during all lunches. It describes the history behind Earth Day, informs the student body on how each can contribute to a sustainable planet and has a fun guessing game. Teachers have provided photos of themselves when they were young; some were around for the original Earth Day, and the students try to guess who the photo belongs to. Each photo slide has a riddle or a statement for a hint.
The EcoKnights make recycling fun and remind their peers to recycle at school in clever ways all year. During our annual field day the club promotes recycling by sponsoring a “Don’t toss it, Recycle it” bean bag toss. The students love to play and get a prize for winning.