Waste Pioneer: The I.S. 68 Isaac Bildersee Middle School Student Government
We were honored to work with the Student Government of I.S. 68 Isaac Bildersee Middle School, who organized a litter cleanup in partnership with our Youth Education division.
Waste Pioneers come in all ages!
A big part of our waste education programming includes teaching young students about the problem of litter, and about the importance of everyone doing their part to keep NYC neighborhoods clean.
We are so delighted to feature the Student Government at the I.S. 68 Isaac Bildersee Middle School, a small and inspiring group of 7th and 8th graders named Joy Askew, Princesse Pierre, Ruth Danielle Joachim, and Wilnalie Prevalon, who took the initiative to join forces with our Youth Education team to organize a cleanup around their school community.
The Student Government had been brainstorming ways they could help improve their building and facilities. They noticed that the area surrounding their school, a long block that is also a busy commercial corridor, is often very dirty. People walking along the block were dropping trash not just on the streets and sidewalks but in the school garden and in the Bildersee Playground.
Joy Askew, Princesse Pierre, Ruth Danielle Joachim, and (not pictured) Wilnalie Prevalon, who together form their middle school’s Student Government, loved the act of giving back with a cleanup
When they heard about the opportunity to receive a Toolkit of cleanup supplies from the Sanitation Foundation, the students were eager to sign up and go out and clean up!
So, last May, equipped with litter pickers, gloves, hand sanitizer, large trash bags, and high-vis vests, the students took to tidying up their school’s grounds, the streets, and the park nearby.
They asked the school custodian not to clean up before them, too, so that they could really understand how much litter was being dealt with on the daily.
“I wouldn’t have gone out by myself,” says their advisor Charmaine Dixon, giving all the credit to the students. “And they were having such fun. You can see from the pictures: they were laughing, enjoying themselves, they didn't even see it as a task. I’m so proud of them.”
From just one cleanup, the group collected almost 30 pounds of litter. It was a very impactful experience, they say. They knew it would be a lot of trash, but they were still surprised by how much it becomes when filling up bags.
“We found out how dirty these blocks are. We just have to go out and to do the work.”
—Charmaine Dixon, Community School Director, I.S. 68 Middle School
These kids show us how cleaning up is cool and fun
When asked if they’ll do it again, Joy, Princesse, Ruth Danielle, and Wilnalie reply: “yes, definitely!” They’re considering making it a quarterly activity with more of the student body. With more students participating, they can go on and cover more blocks.
They hope to show the video of their cleanup with the school wide assembly, to encourage engagement and help kickstart more conversations with their peers about littering and waste reduction. They also mentioned starting a school club centered around these issues. Aware that many students aren’t always interested in this issue — and that many people don’t always see cleaning up others’ litter as their personal responsibility — they’re passionate to bring the cause to the center of more conversations and activism. One idea they have to incentivize more students to participate in this campaign is to give prizes or even school credit for the activity of helping clean up.
Some of the Joy, Princesse, Ruth Danielle, and Wilnalie’s takeaways from the cleanup: action items and next steps their community can take to help keep their school and neighborhood clean! Another idea they thought of is to put garbage cans in the middle of the block, since people aren’t waiting to get to the end of the block to throw away their trash.
The team also says the cleanup increased their awareness of their own waste, and they try to reuse bottles and reduce their other waste however they can.
Thanks to all the great students who are taking cleanups to the next level!
Interested in organizing a cleanup with your school community, or just want to teach your students (or fellow students) about reducing waste, improving recycling, and supporting their community? Check out our Youth Education division, where we offer a full suite of waste education resources for NYC schools.