First Meeting with EPA

Meeting Agenda

Hawthorne Elementary School Composting Project
Brainstorming Session
January 22, 1998
3:00 p.m. - 5:00 p.m.

Attendees:

Marcia Pomeroy	Boys and Girls Club; KC, KS Public Schools	551-3499
Dr. Mark Harrison	Principal, Hawthorne Elementary School	551-3685
5 Americorps Members (Beth - lead)
Gary Bertram	EPA	551-7533
Jim Callier	EPA	551-7646
Marcia Dickinson	EPA	551-7436
Stacy McVicker	EPA	551-7368
Not Present:
Rose Montgomery	Program Manager	551-3685

Minutes

Background:

Marcia Pomeroy shared some of the history and expectations of Hawthorne Elementary School and its interest in having some type of recycling or compost project. She mentioned that the approximately 30 after-school students (ranging from kindergarten to fifth grade) were researching recycling projects and related issues on the Internet with the help of the Americorps members. Rose Montgomery will be the main Hawthorne contact. Beth will be the primary Americorps contact.

Stacy McVicker will deliver minutes from this meeting to all attendees by January 23.

Education:

The Americorps workers will be in Kansas City for another four and a half weeks. The five workers will devote at least one hour a day working with after-school students on the recycling/composting project. More time will be devoted if needed. They have already collected some educational materials and will plan educational crafts and games for the children. ACTION: Americorps workers should talk with Marcia Dickinson about other resources and activities.

ACTION: The Office of External Programs puppet show will be delivered at 4:30 p.m. on January 23. Stacy McVicker, Dorothy Posey and Patricia C. (Youth Friends) will deliver the show. Marcia Dickinson will attend.

ACTION: During the week of January 26, Marcia Dickinson will present an overview of recycling/reuse/reduce to the Hawthorne students. This may include an "in the bag" activity. The students will bring their own bag, decorate it and fill it with the materials they dispose of on a daily basis.

The students could also decorate two gallon buckets to: 1) bring compost materials between home and school, or 2) sell to the community for their contribution to the compost pile. The bucket may also have some "guidelines" attached that describe what should go into the compost pile. ACTION: Americorps members will consider and possibly plan for this activity. Buckets may be donated from local businesses.

ACTION: The Americorps members will complete a schedule of activities for the next 4 weeks. They will complete this by Monday, January 26.

A guest speaker will be invited to discuss his compost operation that sustains his tree growing operation with the young students and with the community. Both an educational garden and a tree-growing operation were mentioned as possible follow-up activities that the school could undertake after this 6-week project is completed. ACTION: Marcia Dickinson will invite Wes to visit Hawthorne and give Beth a copy of the CNN videotape regarding the project. The Americorps members will work with the students, Rose Montgomery, Marcia Pomeroy and Stacy McVicker to invite appropriate community members to attend.

There was discussion about the extent of the project, i.e., whether it should be school-focused or neighborhood-focused. The group noted that it was a good idea to start small, but that education of both the students and the community was appealing. The community could be reached through the children, through community centers and churches or through specially arranged educational programs. ACTION: Stacy McVicker will work with the Americorps workers and the students to design a plan for community inclusion and outreach.

Compost Project (current stage):

ACTION: Marcia Dickinson will meet with Dr. Harrison or Rose Montgomery on January 23 about necessary materials to complete the compost project.

ACTION: Dr. Harrison will talk with local neighbors about the compost project to educate them regarding the compost project considering its proximity to their houses.

ACTION: Marcia Dickinson will teach the Americorps members and Rose Montgomery the process to follow to construct a compost facility. She may hold this meeting during the week of January 26. Stacy McVicker may attend this session. The Americorps members will put the compost process (and other activities) on the schedule for the next four weeks.

ACTION: EPA will help the Americorps members and Hawthorne School complete the scheduled activities as planned.

Compost Project (Preparation for future stages):

ACTION: Rose Montgomery and the Americorps workers should discover how the students want to use the compost fertilizer in the long-term, i.e., an educational garden or growing trees for the community. This should be presented to Dr. Harrison for his input.

ACTION: Stacy McVicker will research EPA grant opportunities that may support future stages of the project, i.e., environmental justice grants. She will communicate these opportunities to Marcia Pomeroy, Rose Montgomery and Dr. Harrison.

ACTION: Marcia Pomeroy will submit a proposal for support from the Wyandotte Cluster Science Grant for future stages of the project.

ACTION: Americorps workers can speak with local organizations about supporting a garden or trees in the future, i.e., Arbor Day Foundation in Nebraska City.

ACTION: Stacy McVicker will provide information to the students, Americorps, Rose Montgomery, Marcia Pomeroy and Dr. Harrison about City Sprouts, an organization in Omaha that converts underutilized land into community gardens maintained and used by surrounding neighbors.

Communication, Media and the Kids Page:

There is the potential for help from Northwest High School as well. It was decided that the high school students would assist in terms of the "coverage" of the students' activities. They would capture the four-week process through photographs, writing and other means. ACTION: Marcia Pomeroy will contact Larry Wren about these activities. He will contact Gary Bertram and arrange a session with Gary and the high school students to discuss ideas about how to capture the process in pictures and words. The coverage may be used in the Regional Kid's Home Page as an example of what other elementary schools can do regarding composting and reducing/reusing/recycling education.

Marcia Pomeroy mentioned that media coverage should be arranged throughout the four-week project. Channel 62 has already agreed to do a public service announcement relating to the project and its goals. ACTION: Marcia Pomeroy will contact Channel 62 about coverage.

ACTION: Americorps members will research other media coverage opportunities.

Research:

There were several areas of research mentioned that the students could pursue with the guidance of the Americorps members.

Hawthorne students and Americorps members can research the recyclables used at Hawthorne School and/or take a survey of local businesses using recyclables. ACTION: Americorps members should work with the students to pursue one or both projects. Students may consult Marcia Dickinson about how the school can use more recycled goods. Results from the business survey can be used for an "awards ceremony" and/or media coverage of these environmentally-friendly businesses.

ACTION: Americorps members will visit local businesses regarding a donation of 50 feet of welded wire or snow fencing for the compost project.

Considering the local markets and limited timeframe, there was not great enthusiasm for taking on a recycling process for aluminum or other resources, i.e., glass. However, if Hawthorne School decides to pursue that route, one potential research area would be to discover what can be done with aluminum and tin in the local market? Where can collected aluminum be taken? Are there any nearby industries in Fairfax that would accept the school's collected cans?

First Meeting with EPA

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