Students at Community Park Elementary School in Princeton are into recycling – but not just the kind that ends in the recycling plant.
Community Park students are keeping their recycling project is the school. Students created a colorful eight by 16 foot tree mosaic using only old and donated tiles.
The mural, titled The Reflection Tree, is a reminder to reflect on positivity and the words love, peace, faith, smile and dream are embedded in the mural.
The entire fifth grade class created a clay tile to be incorporated into the mural and made ceramic hearts and stars using coordinating colors to compliment the artwork.
This recycling project is just one of the ways that the school promotes sustainability and environmental awareness.
Community Park Elementary School recently became the thirteenth school in Mercer County to join National Wildlife Federation’s Eco-Schools USA. This internationally acclaimed program provides free resources and support to schools working towards sustainability. The program, in just one year, has grown from 43 to 116 schools in New Jersey.
The recycled mural aligns with Eco-Schools Waste and Consumption pathway, which encourages schools to reduce their environmental impact by reducing, reusing and recycling.
The program is made up of 10 environmental pathways that schools can select from, including energy and water conservation and promoting sustainable foods. Eco-Schools USA also offers teachers tools and support to progress along those pathways, providing a framework to integrate sustainability practices into the curriculum and engage students in real world learning experiences.
In addition to creative recycling, Community Park Elementary School also boasts thriving gardens that tie right into the curriculum.
The Colonial Herb Garden acts as an interactive and living teaching tool that supports the curriculum of world language, health and third grader’s study of Colonial Princeton.
The Prairie Habitat Garden allows students to study the intricacies and interactions of insects, animals, and nearly 50 species of flowering perennials and grasses. This garden ties in directly to kindergarten, first and second grade science curriculum, which includes the study of habitats, insects, and plants.
A naturalistic amphitheater comprised of stump seats allows teachers to bring their classes outdoors.
Through the Eco-Schools USA network, Community Park Elementary School will have the ability to share these success stories and student outcomes with like-minded schools. Eco-Schools is an international program in 59 countries. The program is hosted by the National Wildlife Federation in the United States, and coordinated by New Jersey Audubon in New Jersey.
Once registered, Eco-Schools can earn awards that recognize their progress towards any of ten sustainability pathways laid out by the program. Last year, Ben Franklin Elementary School in Lawrenceville earned the highest award, the Green Flag Certification.
In addition to Ben Franklin and Community Park elementary schools, Mercer County is home to 11 more Eco-Schools including, Hamilton High West, Pennington Montessori School, Princeton Academy of the Sacred Hearth, Princeton Day School, Princeton Friends School, Princeton Junior School, Princeton High School, St. Gregory the Great, Stuart Country Day School of the Sacred Hearth, Village Elementary School and Waldorf School of Princeton.
