Earth Day Groceries, 1999 Reports

This is Part 12, with reports from schools 1,106 -1,200.
Updated September 5,1999.

Use the Guestbook or email to send in your reports. (Remember to include your school name, location, and number of bags decorated) The most recent reports are listed at the top of this page.


YES!!!!! CLINTON ELEMENTARY SCHOOL'S THIRD GRADE "ALL-STARS" PARTICIPATED AGAIN THIS YEAR!!! THIS TIME, HOWEVER, WE ALSO INVOLVED MRS. BEHNKE'S FIRST GRADE CLASS, ALSO!! SUCH FUN !!!!! I ORDERED THE GROCERY BAGS FROM THE FORESTRY SERVICE THIS TIME, IT WORKED OUT VERY WELL !!!!
I AM MAILING YOU TWO DIFFERENT NEWSPAPER ARTICLES WITH PHOTOS BY SNAIL MAIL!!! CAN'T WAIT TO SEE THEM ONLINE!!!!
Environmentally yours,
Candace Martin and the 3rd grade "All-Stars"
Shawn Behnke and her 1st grade class of:
Clinton Elementary School
200 E. Franklin Street
Clinton, MI 49236
tele: 517-456-6504
Sorry for the delay in getting you this info. My 8th grade earth science students decorated 330 earth day bags which were distributed at the Double A grocery store here in Stratford. I have photo's. No scanner but could mail you copies if I had an address.
Teresia Harrison
Science Instructor
Stratford Public Schools
P.O. Box 589
Stratford, OK 74872
Helen V. Walker
Bolling Air Force Base
370 Brookley Ave, Bolling AFB, Wash DC 20332
Bags decorated: 1348
Comments: Bolling has worked with various schools in the Washington Metropolitan and BeltWay areas providing stimulating and positive reactions towards recycling. We reached hundreds of youth through the Grocery Brown Bag Project. This is a fun, cost free environmental awareness project where students decorate grocery bags provided by the base commissary with environmentally friendly pictures and messages. The bags are returned to the commissary or other grocery stores and passed on to patrons with the message that children care about environment. The patrons are instructed to use the bags at least three times and then recycle them. Bolling's 3, 4 and 5 years old took the project a step futher, after taking their brown bags to grocery three times they decide to keep them and make beauiful wind chimes, pinatas and other beauiful works of art.
Each year the 11th Wing strives to increase awareness and participation in our recycling programs. We feel recognition increases awareness. Through our Recycling Awards Program, we added a new Recycling Category to include the Brown Bag Project.
I would like to share a poem written on a (BROWN PAPER BAG) by our Third Quarter Recycling Hero winner. Mr. Robert Jones is eleven years old, and he lives in Howard Co. Maryland.

PLEASE WORLD.....
The world means a lot to me. So please listen to my plea. If you pollute and don't recycle, the cycle of life may stop. So top the effort we use today. Clean trash up before you play. Recycle as much as you can. Please world join me in my plea. It is time to take action on the damaging habits of man. Buy recycleable goods and plant plants. Join me in my dream for a cleaner earth, join me fellow man.

The Brown Paper Bag Project has provided so many wonderful inspiration ideals, and we thank you.
Have A Great Brown Paper Bag Day


Galena Primary School participated in the Earth Day Groceries Project for the second year with Dick's Supermarket in Galena, IL. The event was organized by Janann Dostal and Stephanie Lemery. 400 grocery bags were decorated and distributed this year by students in grades Pre-K through 4th. We had a wonderful response from students, parents, and the community again this year!! It was an excellent addition to our celebration of Earth Day.
Janann Dostal
Pleasant Hill Elementary School in Topeka, KS decorated 300 grocery bags. JM Bauersfeld's donated the grocery bags to us. We enjoyed the project.
Pam Broadbent
2nd grade teacher
Lisa Manganaro
St. Stanislaus Kostka School
Sayreville, NJ United States
Bags decorated: 176
Comments: Our school, St. Stanislaus Kostka in Sayreville, New Jersey, participated in the 1999 Earth Day Groceries Project. Our local ShopRite donated the brown paper bags that our students enjoyed decorating. Many messages were colorfully illustrated on these bags to send reminders to local residents to help save our Earth. Thank you Mark Ahlness for this wonderful project idea. We really enjoyed participating in this project and look forward to our school participating in the future.
Patti Vennes
Ulm Public School
Ulm, Montana
Bags decorated: 400
Comments: The 130 students who participated felt that they were providing education to the public on the importance of taking care of our planet.
Kristie Cassidy
Lapel Elementary
Lapel, IN 46051
Bags decorated: 560
Comments: When I was asked to put together Earth Day activities for our school, I started surfing the Web looking for ideas. I came across this site and thought it looked like fun. The entire school participated, grades PK-6. We decorated a total of 560 bags, which were distributed at McGuffy's in Lapel, Meijer in Anderson, and Wal-Mart in Noblesville. The kids, teachers, and the community all loved it ~ can't wait until next year!
Shelia Buss
GE Plastics
Parkersburg/Washington, West Virginia
We are elated to report that in celebration for Earth Day 1999, GE Plastics in Washington, West Virginia and Kroger grocery stores in Parkersburg, West Virginia sponsored a COUNTY-WIDE Earth Day Groceries Project!! Every elementary school in Wood County, West Virginia participated in our project. As part of our site Earth Day activities, we used the Grocery Bag Project concept as our annual "poster" contest. Every year we sponsor this contest with the county elementary schools and employee children & grandchildren. This year, using the project instead of posters, we had overwhelming response. First place and runner-up winners were selected from preschool, kindergarten, and 1st-6th grade entries. These students, along with their families and school principals, were recognized for their participation, creativity and desire to improve our environment with an awards banquet at the GE Plastics Washington Site on Earth Day. We are proud to announce our students' outstanding accomplishment!
Kroger Stores provided all of the grocery bags to the schools. We had 19 schools to respond and 2,988 bags turned in! Quite a successful project.
In addition, since the project is such a neat idea, other groups picked up on the idea. I understand a local girl scout troop participated and my 4-H club also created grocery project bags!
Please let me know if you have any questions - thanks for such a wonderful idea. We loved the project!
Francesca Lippi
Sylvester Elementary School
Berrien Springs, MI
Bags decorated: 104
Comments: This project is very popular in our community. Several private and public schools participate. The students love it when someone tells them that the groceries they bought were in a bag the student designed.
Mrs. Dalgarn's and Mrs. Sheridan's first grade classes at Tussing Elementary in Pickerington, Ohio (a Columbus suburb) got involved in Earth Day 1999 by decorating bags from a local Kroger store. Part of a week long Earth Day Unit, this awareness campaign resulted in Trash Sculptures and a room recycling program instituted by the children. Many extended their school explorations and initiated recycling regimens at home. Earth Day extended into Arbor Day as one first grade class planted two trees on school grounds to celebrate and impact the future. As second graders, the students at Tussing Elementary will explore an extended Earth Day Unit. Thank you for including these pictures on your web site and linking the students at Tussing Elementary to global posterity.
Respectfully submitted,
Mrs. Jacquie Hurwitz
Student Teacher with Mrs. Dalgarn's First Grade
The pictures are representative of bags from both classes.
I'm glad it's not too late. I came across your project and my neighborhood grocery store donated 500 bags to an eager and cooperative staff. We'll do it again. Thanks.
Webster Elementary School
36477 Ruth Ave.
Madera, CA 93638
Nancy Kent
Kindergarten Teacher
Sherida Bias
Location: Ashland, KY, USA
Bags decorated: 200
Comments: This was our first year decorating bags for the Earth Day Grocery project. A local grocery store donated bags and each student decorated a bag. It was a fun way for the students to share what they had learned about the importance of taking care of their Earth.The bags were returned to the grocery where they were used to bag groceries and share their special Earth Day messages with the community.
Happy Earth Day, 1999!

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