Students find ways to turn trash to treasure

Plug'd in...for students, by students at Huntingtown High School ....

Friday, Oct. 30, 2009

Click here to enlarge this photo Photos by JONATHAN ALLEN Christa Allen shows off the book covers she made from cereal boxes. E-Mail This Article | Print This Story Click here to enlarge this photo

Global warming. Pollution. Waste. These are just some of the many environmental issues occurring now.

Environmentalists have been working to limit these issues, but they aren't the only ones. Some Huntingtown High School students have been doing their own share of helping the environment; making their own purses, pencil pouches and even lamps.

Not all high school students take a huge interest in environmental issues. There are clubs and even classes, but not all the students know of what is going on. But those who do know see it as a big part of their future. Green-network has said that more than 45,000 tons of plastic has been thrown into the ocean, which leads to the deaths of seabirds and marine animals.

Junior Christa Allen says that she gets personal satisfaction out of recycling.

"It feels good to know that the lifestyle I am living is less harmful to the earth," Allen said. She has self-made many items from paper holders out of cereal boxes to her own clothing. Cereal, being her favorite thing to eat, has been the source of most of her creations. "At our house we eat a lot of cereal so I didn't have to scrounge around for this supply! I always have some around the house, now."

According to National Geographic , activities like burning fossil fuels have pushed the carbon dioxide level higher than it has been for more than 1,000 years. Senior Maddie Gray said she wants the world to know that what gets thrown away can be very valuable.

"If you open your mind to using ‘trash' for things you can realize the amount of objects that are wasted and the possibilities that your imagination has. As soon as you break through that door of conformity you can take going green and transform it, leaving a positive mark on the world."

Gray is just beginning to make items out of recycled goods, but her first project was gutsy. "So far I've only made my lamp, but am about to start a list of things, mostly random ornaments and furniture (eventually)." Like Allen, Gray used any supplies she could get her hands on, mainly from her dad's barn, but her creations were not just for her own pleasure, they were part of a school art project.

"We had to make a used objects center piece in art, and I went a little crazy with it and decided to make a lamp, which I've kept in my room ever since," Gray said.

Inspiration. Where do the students find it? For Allen a "Go Green" movement caught her attention and gave her the inspiration to say thanks.

"Not knowing much about global warming, I still really wanted to live less wastefully as people thousands of years go did. I figured, if God created the Earth for us to live in, why can't we just say thanks and show our appreciation by not trashing it? That mentality just inspired me to say thanks to God, in a way," she said. Allen said her inspiration simply came from her teacher and friends and even inspired one of her own friends.

Both students realize that what has happened in the past, has happened, but hope that their actions will open the doors to a cleaner future.