From Aluminum to $ to Oysters, the Great Journey

From Cans To Cash to Oysters, The Great Journey

The water quality, and clarity, of the Rappahannock River has drastically decreased as time has progressed. During the time of John Smith it is said that the water was so clear, a person could see the bottom at depths of up to twenty-five feet; it is also said that the oyster reefs were so massive that they rose out of the water during low-tide, and that a ship could not navigate the rivers due to the massive oyster reefs. This high quality of water, due to the oysters, allowed fish to grow to massive size, and populations; it is said that a person could simply hold a frying pan over the water and catch enough fish to last him weeks. Sadly these facts no longer apply in this current time; however this problem can be fixed.           

Christchurch School is a co-educational boarding school in Urbana, Virginia; many of its classes focus on the environment and sustainability. However one class, Local and Contemporary Environmental Issues, taught by William Smiley is completely centered on environmental issues, and sustainability, and how to create a better world. There are many focuses of this class, which include composting, reducing waste, recycling, gardening, and cans for oysters. Cans for oysters is a student-run program which focuses on oyster restoration in the Rappahannock River. Cans for oysters’ uses a very interesting system.

Christchurch and its’ partners, (a local church, elementary school, Middlesex Women’s Club, and the Kiwanis club), collect aluminum cans, once they have a substantial amount of cans collected they place the cans into plastic bags, load them into a truck, and take them to Middlesex Metals (a local recycling business). Once there the cans are weighted, (one pound of aluminum equals forty-five cents), and money is paid to Christchurch based off of the weight of the cans. Christchurch then uses this money to buy oysters (Christchurch has calculated that one can equals about one oyster). Christchurch then places the oysters in a tub filled with water and spat, (spat is an organism which lives on the oyster and filters the water). Once the spat has attached themselves to the oysters, Christchurch students place the oysters into bushel baskets, and then they reintroduce the oysters into the Rappahannock River!

Cans for oysters is able to help improve and sustain the local economy, and environment. It also improves local equity. Cans for oysters’ supports the local economy by increasing the amount of money the school obtains; due to the fact the recycling company pays money for the aluminum cans. The school uses the majority of this money to buy oysters’, thus helping out the people who sell these oysters. It also supports the local economy due to the fact it uses a local business to recycle the aluminum. Cans for oysters improves the local environment by creating fresh water (one oyster can filter up to fifty gallons of water every day), creating a safe habitat for marine animals by creating oyster reefs. It also decreases the amount of cans in landfills; due to the fact the cans are recycled through Middlesex Metals. Cans for oysters improves local equity due to the fact it educates Christchurch students, and the local community about the importance of recycling, and preserving the environment. It also allows the community to reverse the damage it has done to the river. It allows Christchurch students, and other members of the local community, to work together in order to build oyster reefs and recycle aluminum, thus helping the environment. Community members at, and beyond, Christchurch collect cans and donate them to the school. They are helping improve local waterways by donating their cans to Christchurch. Christchurch has partnered with a local church, elementary school, Middlesex Women’s Club, and the Kiwanis club in order to help increase the amount of cans it recycles; thus increasing the amount of oysters they buy.

If you are interested in Christchurch School, or helping advance the cans for oysters program please email, John E. Byers (headmaster) (jbyers@christchurchschool.org), or William Smiley (sustainability coordinator) (wsmiley@christchurchschool.org).

Written by: Bryce Norvell

Resources Saver -- Recycling

Resources Saver -- Recycling

Everyday when I dump the trashes on dorm after cleaning my room, I can always see many recyclable materials, aluminum cans, cardboards and plastic bottles, go into the regular trash bin instead of recycling bin. When I am working on the worksheet for homework, I notice that most of the worksheets are only one-side. I did not treat recycling seriously at first, because I am an international student from China, and when I was studying in China, most of students did not care about recycling. In my Chinese middle school, they only put one big trash bin for each class, so students just dump all the trashes into that big trash bin. After I came to CCS, I started recognizing the importance of recycling, especially after I started taking Mr. Smiley’s

“Local Contemporary Environmental Issues” class. Once, when I was doing research for a Mr. Smiley’s assignment about recycling, I was shocked by the data that I saw. 

            As the human of 21st century, we all know that we are burning huge amounts of energy and other resources everyday, and that is pushing us toward a very serious situation, which we will face the lack of resources one day eventually – Many countries are actually facing this problem now.   The data that has shocked me strongly shows that recycling is a very great saver of resources waste. Below is some of the data of three most common recycling materials: Aluminum cans, papers and plastics.

#1 Recycling aluminum cans  
: According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, recycling an aluminum can requires less than 5 percent of the energy that would be expended in creating a similar can out of fresh bauxite ore. The Aluminum association estimates that the energy saved in recycling a single aluminum can could power a television for 3 hours. 

 

#2 Recycling papers  
: Recycling paper not only saves energy but also saves trees, reducing the amount of carbon dioxide present in the atmosphere. The EPA estimates that producing a recycled paper produc requires only 60 percent of the energy required to create one from fresh wood pulp, and the Energy Administration information reports that recycling a ton of pater can save 17 trees.   Recycling paper also requires about half the water normally used in processing paper from virgin wood.

# 3 Recycling plastics  
: Recycling plastic requires only a tenth of the energy needed to create new plastic from raw materials, according to Mike Biddle, president of MBA Polymers.

           

From the data above, we can realize how important recycling is. Recycling is the resources saver, and we have to do this to postpone the day that we will face the lack of energy and resources, and hopefully we can leave a “green earth” to our descendants. 

Recycling is EASY

Recycling:  present participle of re·cy·cle (Verb)

Verb 1.     Convert (waste) into reusable material. 2.     Return (material) to a previous stage in a cyclic process.

         The actual act of recycling is about as difficult as reading the above definition. It is one of the easiest yet most responsible thing you can do for the environment. Instead of throwing out certain materials to go and take up more space in a landfill, you simply throw them into a different container and they go through a whole process of being broken down and then built up again into a new product. And it doesn’t have to be the same product it was before. For example, an aluminum can may become a toy, a camp stove, an airplane, or at Christchurch it may become an oyster. 

            The hardest part about recycling is knowing what to recycle. Any paper, cardboard, plastic, aluminum, and steal can be recycled. There are designated recycling bins all around campus that are labeled as ‘paper’, ‘plastic bottles’, and ‘aluminum cans’. The aluminum can ones seem to be the most abundant because of our ongoing project ‘Cans for Oysters’. Which is not only good for recycling but also helps filter water in the watershed. So there’s a win- win situation that should further inspire anyone at Christchurch to recycle.

            Recycling is a great first step to becoming a more environmentally aware citizen. Once one is aware of how much it helps the environment it becomes harder to throw something away instead of recycle it. In some places it is the law to recycle. In Virginia it is not, yet, so I believe that says a lot about Christchurch and our sustainability pledge and how we are taking it seriously. 

Forest GREEN $$$$$

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At Christchurch school we have been working in a local garden on campus for a month. We are striving to encourage individuals to learn about the food they eat and the farmers that produce what they eat. We encourage individuals to understand how much energy is spent on the food we eat everyday, the gardens gives you this experience. We began by digging up grass that Mr. Smiley continuously reminded us was potentially 7 feet in the ground, much to our concern. But we continued and cleared out a total of three beds, one large and two small. During the unearthing and re-earthling process, a few of our classmates began to start the composting process. Collecting all of the organic waste from the cafeteria and putting it into our compost bin. It was kept a good distance away from the beds where we were working for obvious reasons. We use man-made row covers that serve as small green houses that allow us to plant and grow all through the year. We have planted goods such as arugula, lettuce, and kale, which we are provided by the Southern Seed Exchange. To learn more about this exchange see our favorite links page. We strongly believe in gaining a better relationship with the farmers that produce the food we eat. The garden shows you how much work is put into the food you are eating and throwing away.