Menlo Park Students Show Their Love for Mother Earth

Flocks of kids and their parents will walk to school while picking up litter today as part of an Earth Day celebration.

Twenty thousand students in the county will join teachers and community leaders in the Be Seen Keepin’ It Clean initiative to protect our environment by removing any litter.

“Earth Day is a great way to get kids, families, and community members excited about improving air quality, reducing traffic, and supporting our environment” said Daina Lujan, Safe Routes to School Coordinator for the San Mateo County Office of Education. “It’s just delightful to see the level of community collaboration this event inspires.”

In Menlo Park, Encinal Elementary, Laurel Elementary, Oak Knoll Elementary and Hillview Middle School students will participate. They will use gloves and trash bags provided by the San Mateo Countywide Water Pollution Prevention Program.

Once at school, students will note their mode of travel on a chart and record how much litter they collected. Participants will receive incentive rewards provided by Safe Routes to School of San Mateo County, San Mateo CountywideWater Pollution Prevention Program, and the County of San Mateo RecycleWorks Program.

In addition, RecycleWorks volunteers will participate at some schools educating students about the 4R’s: reduce, reuse, recycle, rot (compost), which may also include composting demonstrations. Local garbage companies will provide some sites with special garbage, compost, and recycling truck demonstrations.

Beginning in 2011, with support from Federal, State and local funding sources, the San Mateo County Office of Education has been awarding grants of up to $15,000 per school to schools and districts committed to implementing Safe Routes to School Programs.

The goal is to encourage ongoing efforts to continue walking and biking to school, Lujan said. 

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