AT BOLIVIA ELEMENTARY SCHOOL School-Industry Partnership Promoting Environmental Education BY M VRIORIK MKdIVKRN Pupils ai Bolivia Elementary School arc in a new partnership with a neighbor. DuPont's Cape Fear site in Leland helped students celebrate Earth Day belatedly last week, start ing them on a good environmental habit with a sturdy 90-gallon cart for collecting rccyclablcs. The industry also gave Bolivia Schixil a young flowering Bradford pear tree, planted last Wednesday in front of the school, and funding for further beauufication of the school grounds. Principal David Corley calls it a "cooperative partnership," and the contribution by teachers and stu dents was at least a week of class room time devoted to environmental matters and the sum of a recycling program. Kids were asked to bring newspapers from home, and those who did were treated to ice cream on May 4. declared Ice Cream Day by DuPont. which provided the treat. "DuPont is serious about doing more than its share about the envi ronment," said Twig Wiggins, the company's developmental resource representative, visiting the school for the tree-planting. "We recycle paper, cans and all our processes, and we have reduced our emissions every year." With the installation of scrubbers and other state-of-the-art equipment, DuPont has brought down emissions from 8.25 million pounds in 1987 to four million pounds in 1992. The volume of solid waste to the landfill fell in one week from 25,000 pounds to 10.000 pounds. Now the industry hopes to influ ence the environmental education of children, as well. "Classroom teachers were told to use this opportunity presented by DuPont," said Corley, "as a vehicle to promote awareness of the impor tance of cleaning up the environ ment. Each teacher did this in a dif ferent way." Jenni Johnson's fourth graders were surrounded by posters, recy cling demonstrations and papers they had written on the subject. Asked how they have been observ ing Earth Day, everyone had a dif ferent answer. A FIjOWERING PEAR tree will grace the front lawn of Bolivia Elementary School. A gift of DitPont Cape Fear site, the tree is be ing planted by fourth graders (from left) Dominique Wilson , James Connolly, Nicholas Ixish and Ilillie Hewett. "I pick up trash," said Roy James, "because it looks bad." while Jeffrey Alcorn reported that every class member collected news articles about recycling. Ashley Sullivan told how the class kept a daily record of recycling efforts at home, and Arnica Galloway described the beginnings of a newspaper being put together by one group. "We're writ ing about recycling," she said. Johnson said her class had won the banner for three straight months as the lop class in can collection. "One of my students brought in 1,200 cans one day," she said. "Her folks flattened them by rolling over a bagful with a truck." Bolivia kids are writing about the environment, reading and talking about it in classrooms and tiiey are seeing conservation efforts modeled in their front yard by an area indus try. More importantly, they are working at it with an effort that will continue, Corley said, long beyond the tree-planting and even Ice Cream Day. Their studies will culminate with BEAR Day May 8, from 8:30 a.m. to 1 1 a.m. m >n V.\ * H .* ? j STAfF PHOTOS BY MAJUORIE MtGIVMN JENNI JOHNSON'S class concentrates on the environment, with essays, art work, can collection and other activities. Gathered around a pollution exhibit with Johnson are (from left ) Ashley Sullivan, Arnica Galloway, Steven Varnam, Tony Turner, Krufus Randolph and Tabitha Cord ray. Southport's In Running For '92 'All -American' Competition Southport residents and officials are excited about news just received that their town is among 30 finalists in the All-American Cities competi tion, sponsored by Allstate Insur ance and the National Civic League. Out of 14 1 towns across the coun try, 30 were chosen to make formal presentations June 4 through 6 in Charlotte. From that group 10 will receive the All-American Cities des ignation for 1992. Jo Ann Wesson's agency is one of the reasons for Southpon's inclu sion. She is executive director of Southport 2000, the rcvitalization corporation that has spawned the Main Street project, focusing on his toric preservation and economic re structuring in the town. "We're really pleased to be in the running, as the smallest town of the group," she said. Southpon's popu lation is 2,385. Seven other North Carolina towns were among the 141 entries, includ ing Jacksonville, Boone, Elkin, Gamer, Elizabeth town, Wilson and the Piedmont Triad. Only Jackson ville joins Southport as a finalist. "The criteria they're looking for have to do with community pro jects," Wesson explained. "In our application, we discussed the Main Street project, our urban design planning and the Maritime Museum, which is in progress." An architect provided by the American Institute of Architects do nated his services in designing a Southport of the future, according to Wesson, but only after considerable input from community meetings and from organizations in the town. "The whole purpose of the Ail American Cities competition is to find towns that are trying to plan ahead and better themselves with community involvement, not de pending on government help to do it," Wesson said. She and town officials have not decided what form Southport's 10 minute presentation in June will take, Wesson said, but it will include slide scenes of the town and artifacts from the prospective museum. NationsBank Customer Appreciation Week. We're very proud that so many of you have put your trust in us, and we want you to know just how much we appreciate your business. So please stop by and let us say a special thanks for banking with NationsBank. "My customers are the nicest people to work with. Tm glad we are tailing this opportunity to say thanks We appreciate your business every day, so we're taking this opportunity to say thanks in a special way. We're holding a celebration next week at every NationsBank Banking Center to say "thanks" for hanking with us. We'll be serving refreshments and holding drawings to give away U.S. Series RE savings bonds. We work hard for you because at NationsBank, we know our success depends on your success. We want you to know how important your business is to as. So please stop by next week and let us show you how much we appreciate you. Nopwrhuvr ?* tnirmt* *tmr .if ft rtiifT Yarn im/ n* hr frrxrrit h-uin A