Last year, children in 315 schools worked with local grocers to distribute more than 120,000 paper grocery bags decorated with Earth Day messages. Students at Moanalua Elementary School in Honolulu, Hawaii, participated in the Earth Day Groceries Project in 1997. You can read about the students' project and see more photos on the Earth Day Groceries Project Web page. I had organized my school to do the activity the year before, and it was so easy, and such a resounding success, I just wanted to share the idea. The Earth Day Groceries Project brings together kids and communities and it opens the door to all kinds of learning activities, teachers say.
Teachers frequently remark about how easy the project is.
On the project's Web site teachers will find a brief description of the project and graphs depicting project participation 1994-97 . For teachers who can't find a grocer willing to provide bags, the Paper Bag Council has joined forces with the project to provide paper bags. Ahlness is still amazed by the messages of support that he gets each year from educators across the United States and Canada and around the world. Last year, schools in Costa Rica and Greece were among the participants. This fun hands-on project, which can be used by teachers across the grades, drives home a strong water conservation message.