For their Earth Force project this year, the 6th grade students at James Island Middle School (JIMS) focused on changing the community practice of single-use shopping bags. The students were very concerned with the waste that plastic shopping bags created, especially since they are typically used only 1 time and that plastic never decomposes or goes away. After researching the issue further, the students decided to develop a project where they would raise awareness about the importance of reusable shopping bags and reducing the use of plastic bags in the Lowcountry by giving away canvas bags for shoppers to use at their local grocery store.
On Saturday, March 21st, 20 students from JIMS, along with their teacher Sandie Nichols and Earth Force Executive Director Anna Richardson, were out at the Harborview Road Piggly Wiggly in James Island and handed out 500 reusable canvas bags for patrons to use. As part of their awareness campaign the students also created the "Bag Hound", a visual display made up of plastic bags (see picture above) that demonstrates how many plastic bags the average American uses per year, and brought it with them to the store.
The event was a success for the students and as part of their efforts that day, the students also raised $134 in donations for Earth Force! Congratulations to the students at JIMS for a great event and thank you for all your hard work and efforts in helping our community learn about the importance of reusable shopping bags!