The students at STRIVE – Prep RISE are excited about the holidays, but with their environmental awareness on red (and green) alert, they wanted to reduce consumerism and environmental impact during the festivities. So, they started a series of events just before Thanksgiving break to help their community.

First, they sent out tweets about how to reduce Thanksgiving food waste. Then they made and distributed mini-flyers to encourage people to use a real Christmas tree instead of an artificial one. On the back they included instructions on where and when to recycle trees in their area. Did you know that it takes at least 10 years of using your artificial tree before the impact of manufacturing and shipping of your artificial tree evens out with using a live tree? Artificial trees can’t be recycled, so donate them instead.

Between Thanksgiving and final exams, the CAP students planned events each week. They decorated their school with beautiful decorations made from upcycled books. They held a used toy drive so students could find presents for their younger siblings. They also made eco-friendly gifts for their parents – an herb garden in a jar.

Did you know that according to the Wall Street Journal, the US spends more than $9 billion on gift wrap and that the wrap could cover 5,787 NFL football fields? Whew! In order to reduce that impact, the CAP students invited their friends to make reusable gift boxes during lunch. To reduce the amount of wrapping parents need to use, and to increase the thrill and anticipation of getting gifts, the students had an ingenious plan: they made a scavenger hunt to share with you all. Print it out and forget about wrapping this year! Click here to view and download: Scavenger Hunt for the Holidays

A special thanks goes out to all of our supporters and funders that help make our partnership with STRIVE Preparatory Schools possible this school year, including: Ladd Foundation, Larrk Foundation, and PeyBack Foundation.

Written by: CAP Instructor, Erin Angel