THE BARREL PROJECT!
The next time you visit the Phoenix Zoo
you’ll notice a BEAUTIFUL change
when it comes to RECYCLING!
Battle of the Barrels on Earth Day
On Earth Day, April 22, the Phoenix Zoo hosted a “Party
for the Planet” for over 9,000 Zoo guests. The day was
memorable for families who enjoyed scavenger hunts,
storytelling, ladybug releases, and live music. However,
one of the biggest celebration activities took place in
the Zoo’s main entrance and featured a Battle of the
Barrels – recycling barrels, that is! Thanks to more
than 600 high school students from 23 schools around the
valley who participated in The Barrel Project, the
Phoenix Zoo recycling receptacles (which are re-used
Coca-Cola syrup barrels) have been receiving facelifts
over the past few months. The new and uniquely designed
barrels were revealed to Zoo guests and employees as
part of the Earth Day festivities. This fledgling
project was an overwhelming success founded in the
spirit of community outreach.
Guests visiting the Zoo had the opportunity to vote in
the Favorite Barrel Contest, while students and teachers
who participated in The Barrel Project enjoyed a free
day at the Zoo to cheer on their school barrels. The
battle of the recycling barrels began as all Zoo guests
were offered a voting token to place into their favorite
barrel. “Oooh’s”, “ahhh’s,” and, “this one is the best …
no, this one is the best,” were heard throughout the Zoo
plaza as guests struggled to pick a favorite.
With 53 fantastic barrels to choose from, selecting a
favorite was difficult for many. However, after counting
5,274 votes, Highland High School was announced as the
winner of the Favorite Barrel Contest. The Highland High
School Barrel featured conservation information about
and illustrations of a toucan, a giant panda, an
elephant, a Mexican Grey Wolf, and a sea turtle along
with a postcard message to Grandma about recycling paper
to reduce the impact on animal habitats. The Highland
students also incorporated a Cree Proverb into their
barrel design:
“Only when the last tree has died and the last river has
been poisoned and the last fish has been caught will we
realize that we can’t eat money.”
Many Zoo guests felt this proverb was a
thought-provoking reminder to take action now in order
to protect the Earth and all the valuable resources on
which we depend.
The Barrel Project:
Small Actions, Big Results
Simply called The Barrel Project, this collaborative
community outreach project designed for Arizona high
school students by the Phoenix Zoo Outreach Department,
produced recycling barrel designs that were obviously
anything but simple! Designing their barrels based on
the themes “The Benefits of Recycling” and “How
Communities Care for the Health of our Earth,” students
researched a variety of animals, habitats, and
sustainable practices like alternative energy sources,
conservation/resource management, and, of course,
recycling. The result? A beautiful array of diverse
barrels communicating the importance of recycling.
However, along with providing the recycling message
through a diversity of engaging designs, it was equally
important to the Zoo that all guests and employees would
be able to identify the barrels as recycling bins and
would be knowledgeable about what type of material can
be recycled at the Zoo. Even though each recycling
barrel has a unique design, the lids are uniform. Life
Scout, Ivan Hunter, took on the project of designing and
constructing the lids for all the barrels along with
recruiting local business like Home Depot and Lowe’s to
donate materials. It’s no small task to design and
create over 50 lids, but Ivan, with the help of friends,
family, and fellow scouts, did just that!
There are thousands of small things that families and
the Arizona community at large can do to protect the
health of the Earth, but recycling is perhaps considered
one of the easiest and most well-known practices.
Feedback on the project and observation of barrel
contents have already indicated that these new barrels
are creating public awareness and that our guests are
increasingly diligent about their recycling practices on
Zoo grounds!
The Barrel Project:
Classroom Education, Community Inspiration
The mission of The Barrel Project began in 2006 as it
was increasingly obvious that recycling practices at the
Zoo could be significantly improved by making just a few
changes. The Zoo wanted to ensure that all guests and
employees would be able to identify the barrels as
recycling bins and would be knowledgeable about what
type of material can be recycled at the Zoo. An idea was
born and, in January of this year, registration for The
Barrel Project began. Within a week, registration was
full and it was apparent that the project served both an
educational and community need. Students and teachers
alike were anxious to pickup their barrels so they could
get started with the project. Many teachers were excited
to relate why they chose the project for their student
clubs and classes.
"Our Ecology Club is dedicated to campus-wide recycling.
Last year our campus recycled over 200,000 lbs of
recyclables back into circulation. We are really excited
for the opportunity to spread the word about recycling
through the Phoenix Zoo project. It's an opportunity to
showcase our student's talent and their dedication to
making our Earth a better place!” said teacher Sheila M.
Scanlan of Highland High School.
Teachers, Amanda Patrie and Theresa Johnson of Gateway
Early College High School, had their students
collaborate on The Barrel Project: “I teach a service
learning class and I like to show my students that there
are a variety of needs throughout the community. My
students will coordinate the project. For example, they
will be tracking down the paint and other supplies. They
will plan how best to collaborate with the students from
Mrs. Johnson’s class to create a spectacular final
product,” says Patrie. Johnson continues, “This project
will help me emphasize that reusing materials can be fun
and aesthetic. My students will be learning about
environmental health and biology. As they work with Mrs.
Patrie’s students they’ll also be perfecting
communication and cooperation skills that are essential
in any work environment.”
Matthew Harrington, a teacher at Boulder Creek High
School, described the impact he hopes The Barrel Project
will have on his students, “With our students graduating
and moving on to greater things, we will have advocates
who understand and appreciate what it is that we need to
do to preserve and protect our world for future
generations…. By doing this project with the Zoo, I
truly believe that the students gained a deeper
understanding of the content being taught by the earth
science class as well as the techniques in the art
class. By creating this cross-curricular lesson, the
students were able to make a connection between their
classroom studies and the real world. This is what truly
makes learning relevant, as well as authentic.”
Student participants also had the opportunity to express
their thoughts about The Barrel Project by submitting an
essay for the Environmental Connections Essay Contest.
All student essays that were submitted gave insight into
the research, teamwork, communication, and effort needed
to complete The Barrel Project. Led by teacher Marni
Landry, Paradise Valley High School students, Nicole
Diaz, Andrew Joe, Amy Palmer, Cassidy Pattik, Cassi
Willis, and Jacen Wyke took top honors for their
inspirational essay.
“Prior to entering the competition, Paradise Valley’s
biology club, planned to give back and encourage the
public to maintain our environment. So when we heard of
the Phoenix Zoo’s Barrel Project, our club did not have
to think twice about entering. There was no question
that we wanted to help our community. Wanting to promote
recycling and appreciation for the environment moved us
to create the barrel and set an example for everyone.
Our barrel emphasizes the destruction of polluting and
not recycling in contrast to the importance of caring
for our environment…. We aim to celebrate the beauty of
a pollution-free world.
We know littering is unacceptable and we want to remind
everyone to recycle. What is wrong with littering? It’s
a tragedy to the nature that surrounds us. Our beloved
world is becoming utterly unusable and this is happening
faster than most people think. The common misconception
is that the world’s problems will not really have an
effect until future generations, but the truth is that
the environmental destruction is happening now. If we
try to prevent the destruction, then maybe we can make
the world of tomorrow a better place. This being said,
we need to spread the word to our fellow human beings:
recycle!
Our group created this barrel design to emphasize the
distinguishing factors between a clean environment and a
contaminated one. Our theme is represented through a
catch phrase, “To Recycle or Not to Recycle.” These
Shakespeare-inspired words are a beautiful way to say,
“Throw out your garbage!” On the barrel, this phrase is
centered between two environments, one environment shows
how not recycling makes a disgusting, uninhabitable
world while the other environment emphasizes the
glorious, healthy state the world could be in if it is
taken care of. Our environments display the diversity in
nature showing a rainforest, a coniferous forest, and an
ocean. Your pollution does not just affect your
surroundings it affects many outside habitats.
Being a part of this project has given us the great
opportunity to get to know each other and become
friends! Our communication skills within the club have
improved exponentially from all the time we have spent
together. Through all the arguing and laughter, we
uncovered respect for each other’s ideas and combined
them into one collaborative effort! We hope that the
work we put into this barrel results not only in an
enriching and positive experience for the students, but
also for the entire community. We made our barrel bold,
informative, and eye-catching barrel in order to show
how neglecting our Earth can damage all environments and
make life less happy. If you value your world, recycle.”
The Barrel Project:
A Spirit of Cooperation
“This project embodies the spirit of cooperation, which
is necessary if, as a community, we want to bring about
a positive change,” says Liesl Pimentel, Outreach
Supervisor at the Phoenix Zoo and coordinator of The
Barrel Project program. “The schools and teachers have
done an outstanding job of working this project into
their curriculum and collaborating within their school
communities. Ivan has done a spectacular job creating
the lids and getting community businesses involved! I
hope our Zoo guests will take the time to really look at
the barrels. I couldn’t be more proud of every student
who helped create these thought-provoking, works of
art.”
Thank you to the teachers and students of:
Aqua Fria High School
Arcadia High School
Basha High School
Bioscience High School
Boulder Creek High School
Carl Hayden High School
Compadre High School
Corona Del Sol High School
Desert Vista High School
Estrella Foothills High School
Gateway Early College High School
Greenway High School
Highland High School
Ironwood High School
Mountain Pointe High School
Mountain Ridge High School
New School for the Arts and Academics
Paradise Valley High School
Riverview High School
Sandra Day O’Connor
Saguaro High School
Tempe High School
Westview High School
Please support the following local businesses that
donated prizes for The Barrel Project participants:
Changing Hands Bookstore in Tempe
Desert Botanical Garden
REI in Tempe
In-N-Out Burger
Sports Authority at Arizona Mills Mall
Applebee’s at Thomas and 44th Street
Chili’s at Mill and University
Harkins Theatres
Plans for The Barrel Project in 2008 have already begun!
To get more information or to find out how you can get
involved, please call Liesl Pimentel, Outreach
Supervisor, at 602-273-1341 ext. 7356 or e-mail
lpimentel@thephxzoo.com.
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