Fort Smallwood Elementary Participates in Waste-Free Lunch

Many students at Fort Smallwood Elementary wore green shirts Friday, but it wasn’t in anticipation of St. Patrick’s Day. Students were decked out in green for an environmental reason.

As Fort Smallwood prepares to send in their application to become a Maryland Green School, all students participated in their first waste-free lunch on Friday.

“We always recycle at lunch, but today we are trying to limit what they throw away to as little as possible,” Fort Smallwood principal Mary Yeager said. “It goes along with what we have been trying to teach in the green program all along­—that recycling isn’t just about paper.”

Fort Smallwood Elementary will submit their application for Maryland Green School recognition this week and spent the school year educating students on the different aspects involved in saving the environment.

“Our fourth-grade students are creating rain barrels to help us reuse water,” Yeager said. “Third grade is working on our compost. Second grade is participating in a project called 'Read, Reuse, Recycle Books' where they donate gently used books to the Annapolis Boys & Girls Club. Our kindergarten classes planted a tree on the playground; and first grade is building a butterfly garden.”

The Fort Smallwood Green Team consist of Yeager, reading and resource teacher Mary Ellen Mulvaney, three fourth-grade students, and three fifth-grade students: Ally Fisher, Kristin Molina and Drake Barton.

The Green Team spoke with Patch about waste-free lunch day.

“We went to all the classrooms and talked about saving energy and water on waste free lunch day,” Kristin said.

The students on the green team passed out stickers at lunch to students who made a conscious effort to reduce their waste.

“We also gave them a flier and went on the morning news to talk about waste free lunch day,” Drake said. “And we made posters so everyone would know.

Some students brought thermoses for their drinks instead of juice boxes and others brought cotton napkins and reusable containers for snacks.

“We throw away around 7.2 million tons of food each year,” Ally said. “The things we waste can end up in landfills and oceans, when that happens it could hurt the animals. That’s why this waste-free lunch is important.”

The green team is also reminding Fort Smallwood students to turn off the lights and conserve water. They have posted signs next to the light switches and sinks throughout the school as a friendly reminder to remember the environment.

“We’re just so proud of all our kids,” Yeager said. “They have really learned so much.”

Added Mulvaney, “Just seeing the light in the kids when they realize they are making a difference is the best part. They are so excited and are coming alive with knowledge on the environment. It is great to see them so excited about a good cause.”