Who are the Winnona Park Elementary “Green Captains”?  They are 16 third graders who “helped the school ‘Go Green’ throughout this [past school] year”!  As a final project, they’ve written an open letter to Decatur Metro readers.  Here it is in full.  Great job Green Captains!

We are the Green Captains at Winnona Park Elementary in Ms. Sisler’s third grade class.

Do you know what goes in the recycling bin and what doesn’t? Styrofoam, plate glass, and certain numbers of plastics (according to the county) DON’T go in the recycling bin. [editors note: In the city of Decatur, almost all plastics can be recycled!] Newspapers, aluminum cans, plastic bottles, and cardboard DO go in the recycling bin.

How can you help the environment – by buying organic foods! Organic foods are better than conventional foods because they don’t use pesticides. Pesticides kill pests. But they also kill other animals besides pests such as birds. They also may harm humans. Conventional farmers plant GMO’s (genetically modified organisms/foods). They are so new, we don’t know if they are good. Organic farmers don’t use any of these.

How do you make compost? The first important thing you do to make a worm compost is to buy a worm apartment or bin and worms, or you can dig worms from the ground. Red wigglers make the best worms for composting. The next important thing you can do is fill your bin or apartment with soil. The last thing you can do is put any food scraps except orange peels, dry veggies, dairy or meat. Another idea is you could install more composting bins so that our community will compost more food scraps and yard waste like grass clippings and leaves.

Thank you for understanding our feelings for making the world go green.

Ms. Sisler’s third grade Green Captains