Press Release: Keene MS Students Learn Composting - Virtually!

Keene, NH –Eighth graders from Keene Middle School learned the basics of composting through virtual classroom workshops on April 29 & 30. About 30 students from two KMS STEM Focused Study Group classes participated in Back To The Earth workshops conducted by Education Manager Heather Herring of Northeast Resource Recovery Association (NRRA). NRRA’s School Recycling Club (The Club) provides recycling education and outreach to K-12 schools.

Since the COVID-19 pandemic has confined students to learning from home, The Club had to get creative and set up a way to engage students virtually, using Google Meet™. The students first viewed the Back To The Earth webinar on the NRRARecycles.org website and then composed questions about the composting presentation. The questions were submitted to Ms. Herring in advance and then discussed with the students the following day. Students were able to ask “live” questions using the Google Chat™ function.

One benefit of the pandemic is that The Club has launched a series of FREE weekly Recycling Lessons as part of their SHIP (Supporting Home Instruction Program). Parents and teachers are invited to access the lessons on The Club’s Resources page.

Special thanks to Extensions Program Teacher Betsy Stacey for setting up these workshops. Additional thanks to Keene Middle School Principal Deanna Zilske for her support.

Thanks to funding provided by the Joint Procurement Initiative between the City of Keene and the Keene School District, these workshops were free to the school.