PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — Philadelphia school students showed off their sustainability projects Tuesday, as part of the city's Green Schools program.
The projects on display at the Horticultural Center in Fairmount Park ranged from low-tech rainwater collection to high-tech efforts, like turning plastic bottles into 3D printing filament. Fourth grader Rosely Rodriguez from Esperanza Academy said her school started a garden to show the importance of preserving the environment.
“There's a lot of animals that depend on it and without these beautiful trees, the world wouldn't be the same,” she told KYW Newsradio.
Esperanza third grader Jeremiah Torres said students can use the garden to learn about the life cycle of plants. “It will show how hibernation of the trees and the leaves fall down in fall, winter and also spring where they can grow more plants and pollinators bring more,” he said.
This is the third year for Green Schools, a city-funded program that provides grants of up to $2,500 to 32 district, charter, independent and parochial schools.
“We're right off of Route 76, the 76ers are in the playoffs and we are giving out $76,000 in grant funds this year,” said City Sanitation Commissioner Crystal Jacobs Shipman.
Mayor Cherelle Parker was on hand to urge students to develop green projects beyond the classroom. “We're encouraging you to be creative and innovative and to support — and not be afraid to engage in projects like this that benefit recycling, the environment and our city,” she said, adding that projects like Green Schools help to create the city's next generation of creators and problem solvers.
