Bench Elementary Going Green!

The kids at Bench elementary in the Cowichan Valley came first in the Ecokids challenge put on by earth Day Canada in 2007-2008. These kids went all out in efforts to reduce the use of plastic bags in their community. Through educational skits, movies and presentations to all sectors of the community including their own cohort, politicians , city council and private schools.

Every monday of the week, a committee of kids at Bench elementary have a meeting and find a common environmental and comunity initiative to act upon. They kicked off their plastic bag campaign with a film created with the information gathered from a student survey regarding the use of plastic bags in the environment. The video was followed by a skit that depicted the life of a plastic bag. These efforts are educational and personal, as the information is provided by the youth of the community for the community. The kids started a campaign soon after the skit, that promoted the use of cloth grocery bags. They took the proceeds from the cloth bags and divided them between health program in Myanmar and a homeless shelter in nearby Duncan, BC.
The kids at Bench elementary have truly driven their community closer to each other and to the communities place in the environment. Way to go !