Six schools participate in International Coastal Cleanup

The International Coastal Cleanup began 35 years ago with participants collecting and documenting the litter found along coastlines. Six Hampton schools accepted the International Coastal Cleanup challenge of collecting trash and contributing data about litter entering waterways through cleanups at their schools. Asbury Elementary, Burbank Elementary, Hampton High, Kecoughtan High, Langley Elementary, and Smith Elementary are to be commended for engaging their students in citizen science and service learning, positively impacting the environment.

Crystal Britt-Smith organized Asbury Elementary’s nine cleanups between October 10 and October 26. It was a whole school affair! Anastasia Breeden, Emily Bosak, Kristen Frazee, and their 50 kindergarten students; Heather Davis, Lindsay Cornell, and their 40 first graders; Erica Bryant, Karen Thomas, Andrea Lawton, and their 70 second graders; and Jamie Patterson’s 25 fifth graders all participated in the effort.  They removed over seven bags of trash from their school grounds.

At Burbank Elementary School, Missy Powell-Reidl’s kindergartners conduct cleanups daily near the school’s retention pond. The class strategically planned and cleaned the school grounds on Monday, October 23 (the Monday following the Burbank Fall Festival). These young environmentalists collected three five-gallon buckets of candy wrappers and other plastic wrappings.

Hampton High teachers AshleyAult-Greene, Nicole Braxton, and Margaret McFarland and the Ecology and Key Clubs conducted a cleanup on October 19 that removed 12 large garbage bags of litter from the school grounds. Students in the Kecoughtan Ecology Club, under the direction of Sally Lewis, conducted cleanups on October 16, 17, and 23, removing five large bags of litter from the school grounds. They also cleaned up the library courtyard, removing eight bags of leaves.

At Langley Elementary School, Anna Jackson’s English Language Learners (ELL) class participated in the International Coastal Cleanup on October 6. They gathered two bags of litter. Janise Cook, Christina Groce, and Shayna Walker’s fifth grade students at Smith Elementary School conducted a cleanup on October 13 and removed three large garbage bags of litter.  Walker reported that there was much less litter than she expected!  

Way to go Foxes, Bulldogs, Crabbers, Warriors, Leopards, and Sharks for the example you have set. Get ready for the Walk Hampton Clean and the Clean the Bay Day cleanup challenges to come in April and June respectively.