Our press release was published in the Spartanburg Herald-Journal on Friday, October 23, 2015!
Here's the entire press release:
CAMPOBELLO-GRAMLING STUDENTS TAKE POSITIVE ACTION TO IMPROVE THE ENVIRONMENT
Effort Provides Chance to Win Part of $500,000 in Grants and Scholarships
Campobello – SC – October 2015—The Trash Talkers, a team of seven students from Campobello-Gramling School in Spartanburg District One, will compete in the eighth annual Lexus Eco Challenge, a national contest that encourages students to positively impact their community. The team consists of five eighth graders, Jesus Bravo, Bricen Ghent, Emily Jolley, Gracie Moore, and Cassidy Spring and two seventh graders, Clark Bagwell and Colby Garner.
The Lexus Eco Challenge, created by luxury automaker Lexus and global children’s publishing company, Scholastic, educates young people about the environment and inspires them to create a better world. The students at Campobello-Gramling have accepted the challenge by taking a stand and proving that a small group can bring about big changes. After carefully studying the local environment, the students have developed an Action Plan they feel will benefit their local community.
The Trash Talkers recently implemented portions of their Action Plan, which is to create a composting system for their K-8 school. Students have collected valuable data from teachers, students, parents, and Spartanburg School District One board members about their knowledge of composting. Students have prepared a compost area on campus made of free, reused wooden pallets. They have also received valuable information about soil and the process of composting from Stacey Mason, District Coordinator for Spartanburg Soil and Water, and Jes Sdao, Recycling Coordinator for Spartanburg County.
The Trash Talkers, along with members of Campobello-Gramling’s Student Council, planted a garden that was funded by a mini-grant from Spartanburg Soil and Water. The soil produced from the compost will help maintain the new garden and existing plants on campus. The team also requested supplies for a student-led project through DonorsChoose.org. The supplies included soil test kits, pH meters, and thermometers that will be used to test soil produced from the compost.
The Trash Talkers presented their project to Spartanburg District One Schools board members on October 9th. The presentation included their future aspirations of a school-wide composting system, why composting is important to the environment, and their use of technology to complete this project. Students have also created a blog so that students, parents, and members of the community can keep up with their progress.
Lexus and Scholastic will choose 16 winning teams nationwide. Each team will receive a total of $10,000 in grants and scholarships. All winning teams from this challenge and one other initial challenge will be invited to participate in the Final Challenge for a chance to win one of two grand prizes of $30,000 in grants and scholarships. Eight first-place prizes of $15,000 in grants and scholarships also will be awarded.
For more information about this local environmental movement, contact:
Name: Jessica Morris, Seventh Grade Science Teacher
School: Campobello-Gramling School
Address: 250 Fagan Avenue Campobello, SC 29322
Phone: 864-472-9110
Email: jessica.morris@spart1.org
The Trash Talkers Blogspot: http://campobellogramlingtrashtalkers.blogspot.com
