Warren County is blessed with slightly over 277,000 acres of verdant green fields and forests, and some students at Morrison Elementary School are working hard to keep it that way with their Morrison Eagles Go Green Club.
The environmentally conscious club has gotten some generous support recently to help them achieve that goal. Warren County Sanitation Department director Steve Hillis provided the group with a special recycling container, itself appropriately recycled from a former trash bin.
The kids then came up with a Polly Parrot theme, with a motto of “Polly wants only plastic,” so that Morrison students know to place only recyclable plastic in the container.
At that point School Board member Bill Zechman, a staunch environmentalist, asked Southern Standard graphic designer Seth Wright to come up with a design. Once Wright provided a drawing, Deb Murray, owner and designer of at Diamond Graphics, donated the work and materials and presented a full color sign for the side of the Go Green container, which is  currently located on the school grounds.
Club sponsor Judy Sullivan said kids should be taught the importance of recycling as early as possible.
“It’s essential,” Sullivan said. “And it helps to spread the word because the kids get so enthusiastic about it.
“We have collected so much plastic here that would otherwise go into the landfill,” Sullivan added. “And I think we’ve been an influence on the cafeteria to recycle materials instead of throwing it in the trash.”
In addition to the plastics bin, the school also has a container for aluminum cans, which provides some financial support for the effort.
“We actually sell the aluminum and we put that back into the club,” Sullivan said. “So that we can buy what we need for the club.”
The club has grown to around 80 members, which is a little much for the three original sponsors to handle. Fortunately a number of other teachers graciously volunteered to join the fight against trash.
“We have Tina Boivin, who is our fifth- and sixth-grade science teacher,” Sullivan said. “Then we have Denise Higgins, Jennifer Richey, April Murphy, Tisha McClure and myself. We started off with three sponsors, but our club got so big that we had to get some more sponsors,” which Sullivan feels is a good thing. “We want the kids to get involved.”
Sullivan says she really appreciates everyone who helped with the container project.
“They’ve done such a great job,” Sullivan said. “The Go Green container looks really good and the kids love it.”
Wright says he got involved when Zechman asked him if he would design a logo, something he has done, to great effect, for a number of local charitable organizations and projects.
“I always like to help out Mr. Z when I can and I like to do things for the kids,” said Wright. “And this was for a very good cause.”
Zechman says he is proud of the students, the teachers and the school for their efforts in promoting recycling.
“This is something I really believe in,” said Zechman. “And I think it’s something they will take with them in their lives and urge their families and friends to do. It’s a win-win situation for everyone concerned.”