A Camp Fire Collaboration

 Last Thursday, the TfP team had an awesome afternoon hanging out with middle-school students in the local after-school Camp Fire chapter. And I can't lie to you, it was all fun and games! Over two separate sessions, we implemented our Trash for Peace curriculum that incorporates fun icebreakers and discussions to illustrate the importance of reducing, reusing, and then recycling. The students then had a month to prepare a design for the painting and construction of two recycle bins out of "trash;" one large bin made out of plastic bottles and a mini-bin made with bottle caps!

The students making holes in the bottle caps for the mini-bin.

Excitement filled the goggle-protected eyes of students as they used the power tools.

But we found out the best part during our 2nd session; the students had conducted surveys and gathered more information to create a display in the hallway of their school to show the importance of taking care of the environment in regards to waste. We were absolutely thrilled!

Be sure to check out our facebook for more photos of painting and assembling the bin and of course, the finished bin! Trash for Peace couldn't have had such a successful event without the partnership of NGO Long Way Home and Camp Fire Columbia, so a grand thank you to them! We're excited to work with these organizations in the future and more schools.

Forever Young

You're never too old to play with paint (and recycled materials)! And that is exactly what we learned last Wednesday evening from our guests at the Recycled Crafts night for Lake Oswego's Sustainability Action Month. Our creativity soared while we rolled up our sleeves, cut cardboard, envisioned, painted, glued and sipped on soda (from aluminum cans, of course!) as the projects dried. These ladies taught the TfP team a thing or two as we chatted about the paint colors, where to glue a jewel and how great these crafts would also be for kids. Take a look at our craft fun!

Caught in a moment of concentration, these ladies are creating their vision.

Choosing a nice, bright color scheme of teal, pink and green flowers.

She created a 3-D sunflower bookmark! Complete with coffee bean seeds.

Learn more about Lake Oswego's Sustainability Action Month events here.

Why is bottled water bad?

We found this awesome infographic breaking down the negatives of bottled water. And these are just the basic numbers. It is astonishing (and appalling!) to find out how much we, as Americans, spend on bottled water when large amounts of oil use and waste created far outweigh the benefits of a bottle of water. Spread the word and remember your reusable water bottle! Find a larger version of the infograhic at http://www.onlineeducation.net/bottled_water.