By JOHN E. WEARE
KAB
Teachers possess a unique gift. I know I could never do what my wife does in her elementary school classroom. Although my position at Keep Alliance Beautiful does involve teaching people about recycling I am glad we have a person dedicated to that mission. The first quarter of the school year has been a prime opportunity to see how Emma Steffy reaches a range of ages during her sophomore year as KAB education coordinator.
“Going into my second year as Education Coordinator for Keep Alliance Beautiful, I knew I wanted to expand our reach and make a greater impact on environmental education in our community and schools,” Emma said. “This year, I’ve had the opportunity to bring our Black Ops Program into additional classrooms, working with both 3rd and 5th graders to teach the importance of recycling through fun, engaging, and interactive activities. It’s so rewarding to continue building on a program that has made a difference for several years while reaching even more students. I look forward to another year of connecting with familiar and new faces and inspiring students to work together to keep our community clean and beautiful!”
During our October board meeting, she reported that Black Ops classes had officially started with around 125 students who signed up for the program and took the pledge as their first mission. She visited each class the third week of October to introduce herself and share what Keep Alliance Beautiful does and give students their second mission assignment. Badges were created with their current ranking (PRIVATES) on them and with each completed mission they will receive a new badge with their new ranking. For the second Black Ops mission agents are taking on their first Education Project, Recycle Creatures, Emma said. They will learn about why it’s important to recycle and fun and creative ways to reuse things they would normally think of as “trash”. They also learned a little about our landfill and how much small choices everyday can affect how much trash goes into it. Students will share their creatures during our next mission meeting in November and advance to corporals.
Emma also enjoys seeing youth outside a school setting.
“This year I had the opportunity to work alongside Steph with Steph’s Studios again for 4th grade’s Dobby’s Day,” Emma said. “Fourth graders were divided into groups and got to take turns at different stations learning the history of Dobbys. For our station we created photograms and students got to learn about how pictures were originally taken.”
Digital Detox days at the library have started this month with classes every Friday from 10-11 a.m. These classes are open to the public and anyone who wants to come create is welcome. “We use several recyclable items to make these crafts and share with those who come what Keep Alliance Beautiful does and how they can make a difference by recycling,” Emma commented. “For our most recent class we used egg cartons to make bugs!”
Communication and interaction with school administrators and teachers shows promise as Emma looks down the road. A calendar has been created listing all KAB events and programs we offer through the schools and shared with staff and administration, she explained. We also noted any ideas or projects that teachers or principals may want to take on through KAB to reach out. We are currently coordinating with (Alliance High School Principal) Mr. Stein a possible freshman community clean up at the beginning of November