Read the full story in the Daily Illini.
Samantha White, 6, ran behind a bush and found a wrapper and a fountain drink cup. She picked them up and threw them into her reusable green grocery bag.”I’m trying to collect garbage to help the Earth,” White said.
White already had six pieces of trash in her bag that she found from scouring the grounds surrounding the Savoy Recreation Center, 402 Graham Dr. She said she hoped to find more trash than the 11 other children roaming around collecting garbage in their reusable bags.
White and the other children collecting trash were participating in a contest to see who could find the most garbage littered on the ground. But no matter who had the most in their bag at the end of the search, everyone was a winner. They had all won because they had improved the environment for themselves and for others.
This was the concept their instructors, Courtnie Swearingen, a senior at the University, and Julie Zientek, a junior at Eastern Illinois University, said they hoped the children would learn from the day’s activity at Go Green Camp, a new summer program at the recreation center aimed at teaching children ages five to 12 how to protect the environment.
