March-May Recycling Club Update

We did so many fun and exciting activities in the months of March, April, and May in Recycling Club at my school! Check them out!

Homemade Paper

The first thing we did was make homemade paper, using paper from our school’s own recycling bins. If you would like to make your own at home, here are the steps:

1. Get a container and fill it with water

2. Get paper you have already used and rip it into small pieces. Let it soak for a few minutes.

3. Pour the water and paper into a blender and grind the pieces up. If it gets stuck, just add more water.

4. Pour the gloppy mixture onto a mesh screen. We used a mold that came with our kit, but you can use any piece of window screen. Be sure you use a bucket, so the water doesn’t get everywhere!

5. You can add all types of fun things to the paper, like seeds, glitter, yarn, whatever you like!

6. When you are done adding your extras, use a sponge and press down on the screen to squeeze as much of the water out as possible.

7.  Carefully peel the paper off the screen and place it onto a paper towel to dry completely.

8. A couple days later, you will have homemade paper

And don’t forget, if you mess up, don’t be afraid to try again!!

Butterfly Feeders

Another thing we did was make butterfly feeders from old plastic water bottles! Here is how you can make your own:

1. Take an empty water bottle and get your mom or dad to help you put a hole in the cap. We used a small phillips screwdriver.

2. Take a sponge and stuff it threw the hole (we used the same screwdriver) until about 2/3 of the sponge is sticking out of the cap.

3. Use rope to hang your feeder. We tied a piece of twine around the cap, then tied three more pieces to that one. We then tied all three pieces into one knot and some of us added beads for decoration.

5. Fill your bottle with butterfly nectar. To make the nectar, you need to dissolve 1 part sugar into 9 parts boiling water (for example, 1 Tbs sugar in 9 Tbs water for about 1/2 cup of nectar). Make it sure it is cool before you add it to your feeder!

6. Decorate the water bottle with permanent marker, stickers, or whatever you like. Then hang it up to see butterflies drink there soon!

Marker Recycling

Finally, it was time to collect all of the old markers. Last fall, we decorated ColorCycle boxes, so students and teachers could place all of their old markers. We then collected all of the markers, separated out any pens or pencils in the mixture, and mail them off to Crayola for recycling. In all, we recycled 32 pounds and 1500 markers! This was JUST in our school and only in our FIRST year! Wow! Imagine how many the WHOLE  world could recycle over time!

And Breaking News… 

The recycling club is turning into the…..Environmental Science Club! We are going to partner with our local 4-H to grow our club into something extraordinary! We are excited about some of the ideas we have been talking about, like renewable energy, no waste gardening, plastic pollution awareness campaign, and so much more. The best is yet to come!