To the 2009-2010 students of Beyond Recycling:

When Megan Lohmann and I were putting together Wildsight’s Beyond Recycling program for the first time — just four years ago — I never dreamed that by this year we would be offering it to over 200 students in 16 classes around the East and West Kootenays!

And, Wow! — what a year we’ve had with some of the incredible Grade 5/6 classes in the East Kootenay.

In Fernie, Beyond Recycling students were the stars of Earth Day — making the trashiest fashion and the most innovative goods from things that are normally wasted.

The Trash to Treasure projects you created were incredibly creative, and the collage you made from the handmade paper you made was inspiring artwork. The ‘eco’ articles you wrote were so well done our local paper even printed them.

In Cranbrook, you debated the use of renewable and non-renewable energy sources, considered the impact of eating locally-grown food, and examined the size of your ecological footprints.

In Kimberley, you celebrated Earth Day during school lunch and during the evening with the community and made recycled paper, composted with worms, planted organic veggie seeds, and made pizza box solar ovens.

Plus, you made promises to the planet to reduce your impact over the next year — what an inspiration!

And, over the course of the whole school year, you students inspired our educators with your creative energy, your insight and your wise questions.

So, on behalf of ALL the Wildsight Beyond Recycling educators, I want to thank you for being such good students and good citizens.

It means a lot to know that you will be leading our province into the future.

To those students and teachers who took the time to nominate Beyond Recycling for a BC Hydro Community Champion Award, we are very glad to know that you appreciated what Beyond Recycling is all about. We believe that we can make a difference with the choices we make, and know that you can too.

With warm wishes,

Dawn Deydey

Wildsight/Beyond Recycling