While environmentalists can be trained already, there is one group that is betting on young children learning the ABCs of conservation.
Keep East Feliciana Beautiful is an affiliate of Keep Louisiana Beautiful. A Teacher Environmental Workshop was held Saturday, February 19, at the United Methodist Church Clinton for changemakers representing East Feliciana, West Feliciana, and St. Helena Catholic parishes. The workshop aimed to help children learn to love and care and to be a place to do so.
Nannette, chair of the East Feliciana organization, stated that the series of lessons is geared towards students in the fifth and sixth grades. They are called Roxys Toolbox. Roxy, a cartoon racoon, guides children through topics such as recycling, littering, and pollution.
Egros is optimistic that the creature commonly called a trashpanda will have a lasting effect on children. It’s a very serious problem, and this will hopefully make a difference. Every little bit helps. You have to get the children first. If the parents don’t know, the kids will tell them.
Keep East Feliciana Beautiful was founded in 2010 and has been in operation for 12 years. There was a two-year hiatus due to COVID-19 restrictions. Egros is a gifted artist teacher in the school system. She challenged her students to create art sculptures from mannequin heads and litter they found in their immediate environment. The workshop featured the top entries.
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The Audubon Library System provided a display of books on the environment, litter control, as well as related concepts, to support the effort.
Keep Louisiana Beautiful workshops introduce teachers to an environmental education program that aims to help students become environmental stewards. The program includes 11 lesson plans on environmental topics, interactive activities and worksheets. It also contains supplemental resources, standards for students at different grade levels, and fun worksheets.
Keep Louisiana Beautiful has 40 affiliates, 261,618 volunteers, and participants throughout the state.
Alma Robichaux, education coordinator for Barataria-Terrebonne National Estuary Program, led the workshop. The workshop covered topics such as litter definition, timeline, litter decomposition and watershed, clean waters, effects on wildlife, plastics polluting, reducing, reuse, recycling, marine debris, civic responsibility, and more.
Workshop participants received a $100 stipend and continuing education credits. For more information, visit the workshop website. Visit www.amazon.com for more information. www.keeplouisianabeautiful.org.
