Have you ever wished that you could bring the beach to Gaffney? The thought of coming outside and seeing tides frolicking at your feet can’t help but to send you into a land of dreams. Well, we may not have to wait but 50 more years before ocean levels rise and flood the coast. In no time, South Carolina will be swallowed almost whole and will leave just enough water for that beach house you’ve always dreamed about. Now, if the idea of that beach house doesn’t seem so beautiful as it once did, question what we can do as a community to preserve the soon-to-be marine ecosystem that we have.  If no ideas come to mind, know that kids at Gaffney High are at a head start.

In the science pod, specifically in Mrs. Tindall’s classroom, there has been a lot of environmental progression that is positively affecting our school. Initially, Mrs. Tindall was working on a project with one of her environmental classes about the Styrofoam trays that we use. Through presentation to our district board members and extensive research, her class has raised substantial awareness against the detriment of using Styrofoam trays on the environment, involving cost-effective, helpful alternatives. As a result of their hard work, there has been talk of sustainable lunch trays in the coming years.

Now, Mrs. Tindall and her environmental classes are back again with another project for the school to take part in. This time, these students have been working on recycling buckets for the school. The project came along through the SC DHEC sending a grant to Mrs. Tindall for the purpose of purchasing long term recycling bins for school grounds. She purchased 300 blue buckets, as you may have seen around the school. These same environmental students spent time decorating these buckets and have placed at least two in each classroom.

This project is not only extremely creative but is also designed to be efficient for the long run. When asked where the idea stemmed from, Mrs. Tindall said, “the idea came from the fact that all we have used in the past for recycling is cardboard boxes.  By the end of the year, the boxes are broken, ripped, and nasty from spilled drinks.  The paper usually starts to fall out and my students are left to pick it up out of the floor.”

The buckets have been out for a solid two weeks now and students seemed to have adjusted well, so all in all, the new innovation is a success. But more importantly, key values have been introduced along with these changes. “I think that the project has shown the students that an integral part of taking care of our world is reuse.  Through this project they will see that these buckets will be reused weekly for years to come instead of replacing the cardboard boxes every few months,” says Mrs. Tindall. Through this project, kids are learning how to work sustainably and do their part in conserving our Earth, showing that elaborate projects aren’t always necessary to make a difference.

Mrs. Tindall and her students have been a remarkable example of what we can do to improve not only the school, but our world around us. And as a final message, Tindall would like to exclaim “We only have ONE Earth, just one!  If we don’t take care of our planet, we have nowhere else to go! It is the responsibility of every global citizen to do their part to reduce our resource use, reuse the products that we already have, or recycle them so that new products can be made from the old ones. There are no excuses.  It’s just as easy to put that plastic bottle into a recycling bin as it is to put it in the trash. Better yet, start using a refillable bottle or cup.  Make wise choices and do your part to ensure that your children and your children’s children will have a planet.  Remember, there is no planet B, we only have one Earth!”

Make good decisions, and innovate to make a difference. We do only have one Earth.