dpsgreengang

Students hope their bags do a 'world of good' for animals

*Fifth graders will be selling canvas bags they helped decorate while supplies last. The proceeds will benefit the World Wildlife Fund.

The roughly two dozen members of the New Albany fifth-grade student council are improving the world's environment -- one canvas bag at a time.

With the help of their classmates, the elementary leaders have ordered 400 canvas bags and colorfully decorated them. The students plan to donate the money they raise from the sales -- already more than $500 -- to the World Wildlife Fund to help protect endangered animals.

"There's usually one big fundraiser a year," said fifth-grade teacher Peter Barnes of the student council project. "Last year they raised $7,000 for schools in Uganda. This year it's a little more environmentally driven."

Eleven-year-old Natalie Wotring said the idea for the canvas bag sale came from a growing concern about pollution and its threat toward unprotected creatures.

According to recycling facts provided to them, Natalie said, out of 500 billion plastic bags, only 3 percent of them are recyclable.

"People are plowing land for a place to put all of the plastic bags," Natalie said. "They'll start killing animals soon enough."

With the help of resident "nature guy" Bill Resch, the council produced a short skit for the fourth- and fifth-grade classes.

"It had an earth, and a narrator," said 11-year-old Emily Oldenquist. "The earth was having a nice day, and then four polluters came who had plastic bags."

Barnes said he and Resch researched and gathered samples of canvas bags that could be used for the fundraiser.

Using money from a grant held by Resch, the bags were ordered from ecobags.com.

"They're big, sturdy, with long handles," Barnes said, which are handy for trips to grocery or department stores.

The student council held a design contest to pick five winning submissions which would be ironed onto the blank bags.

"It had to be something with the environment," said 12-year-old Rachel Williams.

Williams' design was actually chosen as one of the winners. It depicts the district's 2-5 school, with figures holding hands in a circle around the building.

"I got the idea from one my t-shirts," Rachel said. "The shirt has a globe and people holding hands, and I changed it to the school."

Other winning designs included a nature scene complete with pond and frog, a smiling earth, and the familiar recycling arrows symbol.

Using fabric, crayons and markers, the students decorated the prints, and classroom parents helped iron on the designs.

The bags went on sale May 16 for the fourth- and fifth-grades.

For every 10 bags sold in a classroom, those students will be able to adopt an endangered animal.

Barnes said some classrooms will have multiple adoptees in the future.

All but 50 bags have been sold, at a price of $2.50. The sale will continue until the bags are all sold.