The Environmental Savers Club (ESC) of Benjamin Franklin Middle School hiked down to Ogden Gardens/Forest Park on Wednesday, October 14th to help the Valparaiso Parks Department spread wood chips on the hiking trails.
It was a cold and dreary day, but the spirits of the students were bright and sunny. One of the goals of the ESC is to partner with the Parks Department and provide free labor to enable in the common goal of making Valparaiso a “Green” city. They accomplished in less than 40 minutes what the parks department would do in 3 hours. By contributing free “high energy” labor these middle school students were able to save the parks department much time and money. It was also an opportunity to provide for the members a hands-on experience of making a difference and seeing immediate results of their labor.
The ESC promotes recycling within our building, partners with Valparaiso parks department, and contributes globally to the Big Gift on Earth Day. This year the club’s goals are to provide plants for every classroom and office in the building, provide more labor to the parks department, and raise money by selling handmade items from recycled material and objects. The money raised will go toward our goal of making a “Green Roof” on our building and giving our annual donation to the Big Gift.