While they may not sling spider webs or leap tall buildings in a single bound, the City of Turlock’s Team Green Kids Club super heroes Water Woman and Recycle Man still play an important role in the community. The two mascots recently paid a visit to the Turlock City Council to help promote the 10th anniversary of Turlock’s Go Green Week, which will be celebrated March 13 to 18.
“This unique program is another collaborative effort that brings attention to activities that improve our environment,” said Mayor Gary Soiseth. “With over 10,000 students and faculty participants, the Go Green Week engages students in events to improve our community and to inspire participation in solutions for a sustainable future.”
Go Green Week is coordinated each year with participating schools within the Turlock Unified School District. The week will include school site visits by local business representatives, tree plantings, recycling contests, a district wide “Wear Green Day,” green awareness wristbands for students to wear throughout the week and more.
Through a partnership involving City staff, teachers, administrators, community organizations and volunteers, students learn about conservation and pollution prevention strategies such as recycling, composting, water conservation and waste reduction activities.
Walnut Elementary teacher Bret Sutterly has been involved with Go Green Week since its inception and he spoke about the program at the City Council meeting.
“I am pleased that we’ve been in partnership with the City of Turlock for so long. This is a fabulous opportunity for kids of all ages up through high school to be involved with environmental issues in our city and also our planet,” said Sutterly.
At Walnut during Go Green Week, the kindergarten through third grade students will be learning about endangered species and their habitats, the fourth-grade students will be working with recycled art, the fifth graders will be planting trees and the sixth graders will be taking a field trip to the recycling center.
In conjunction with Go Green Week, Turlock Transit will be offering free rides for all passengers, all routes, all week long from March 13 to 18.
In the past nine years, the Go Green Program has helped to divert over 18,254 pounds of material from the landfill, plant 195 trees and assist with fundraising efforts to raise approximately $9,000 for the schools through recycling contests.
“This year is the 10th anniversary of the program, and we are extremely pleased with how much the program has grown since its inception. We started the first year at one school site and have grown to now include TUSD schools from kindergarten through 12th grades. It has been exciting to witness the growth in school participation interest, but more importantly the educational impact that it has had on the students,” said Toni Cordell of the City’s Municipal Services Department.
With approximately 11,770 students and faculty participants, Go Green Week seeks to engage students in activities to improve the environment, to improve their schools and to inspire participation in solutions for a sustainable future.
