Above, Eric Lessten, 8, and Marissa Yaeger, 9, look over a pile of junk to determine how the materials can be recycled. The students were on hand during Green Day, held at Warnsdorfer Elementary School in East Brunswick Saturday, to promote environmental responsibility. Right, Alex Boro, 8, comes face to face with M.C. Blue, Middlesex County’s recycling robot. EAST BRUNSWICK – To most students, Green Day is the name of the famous rock band that appeared in “The Simpsons Movie.”
But to students at Warnsdorfer Elementary School, it was a day to “go green” and help save the environment.
Warnsdorfer students got a firsthand lesson in eco-friendly practices Saturday when the school’s PTA held the first ever Green Day. The event gave students a chance to learn more about the environment, as well as about things they can do on a daily basis to help offset dangerous environmental trends like global warming and the greenhouse effect.
The students and parents who took part were enthusiastic about the event, which included crafts and fun activities in various classrooms, all with an environmental theme, PTA member Lindsay Dobrzynski said.
PHOTOS BY SCOTT FRIEDMAN In the Green Thumb Room, visitors received information about all forms of composting, and saw demonstrations of the various stages of decomposition. In the Tree Room, students learned to identify different types of trees, and each was given a tree to plant in the spring.
There was also the letter-writing room, where students wrote to U.S. senators, asking them to move up the date when stricter car emissions standards go into effect.
Dobryzinski, who oversaw the event, said the day also included treats for adults, such as e-mail raffles. Whenever an adult walked into a room, they were asked to give their e-mail address so that future fliers could be sent to them via e-mail rather than paper. In exchange, they got the chance to be in a raffle drawing. The PTA gave out about $150 worth of prizes by the end of the day.A
lso on hand was Abe Seth, an East Brunswick High School senior who wrote a book called “Save My World” on the issue of global warming. PTA mem- bers met him when he did a book signing at the East Brunswick Public Library.
Green Day visitors were encouraged to bring at least one recyclable item per family, such as soda tabs, cell phones and printer cartridges. Environmentally friendly products such as wrap-a-mats and recyclable lunch bags were for sale in some rooms.
Dobrzynski credited the PTA’s executive board and Laura Gordon for making Green Day a reality.