Project Plastic

October 3, 2023

On Wednesday, September 20 and Thursday, September 21, the 7th grade took part in a two-day field trip. 

Students had the opportunity to take part in a beach clean-up at East Islip Marina and Foster Avenue Park through Keep Islip Clean and visit the Arizona Beverages Company in Woodbury to learn about plastics and their business. 

Students were split into two groups, with “Group A” visiting Arizona Beverages Company on the first day to hear a presentation on plastics, enjoy an exploration of the rooftop sustainable garden and a tour of the facility. The other group, “Group B”, visited a clean-up site on the first day. The next day, the two groups switched activities. 

The goal of the two-day field trip was to provide students with real-life learning opportunities that encourage service and interdisciplinary critical thinking skills. 

On Friday, September 22, the 7th grade Gold and Purple teams met in the auditorium to synthesize the data collected from the beach cleanups. Accompanied by a presentation on plastics from Arizona, students were able to create double bar graphs to compare data. Afterwards, students wrote letters to local legislators to prompt change. 

The 7th Grade Faculty Team noted that students were shocked not only to see how much trash and recyclables they collected, but also by the realization that recycling is not a constant in society. 

“Overall, students were extremely enthusiastic to work together, to visit Arizona, to clean up their town, and to have this opportunity,” the 7th Grade Team said.