Pearl Sample students visited by victims of littering

As an image of a bald eagle covered in asphalt flashed across screen at Pearl Sample Elementary Thursday morning, a gasp rose from the crowd.

The third, fourth and fifth-grade students in attendance at the “Critters Don’t Need Litter” assembly quickly saw what can happen when wild animals come in contact with litter, then they got to meet some of the success stories.

Claire Thain, an environmental educator at the Wildlife Center of Virginia, introduced students to Peg the possum, Emma the turtle and Misty the owl, all creatures either directly or indirectly affected by litter.

The program, paid by the school’s recycling efforts, taught students that before tossing trash out, they should think of the consequences.

Pearl Sample — and Culpeper County Public Schools — are already on the green initiative, with the school system ranking first in the “Go Green Challenge.”

According to Michelle Allaire, a reading specialist at Pearl Sample known as the “Earth Lady,” students have already taken to recycling.

“They love it,” Allaire said. “The kids are so persistent about recycling. They are aware and conscientious of the environment and how to protect it.”

Allaire said students already recycling bottles, cans, newspaper and the school recycles its ink jets, cell phones and mixed media.

The school also names a recycler of the month, rewarding the students with a pencil made out of recycled paper and free ice cream.

“I recycle because it’s fun and you can save the animals,” fifth-grader Matthew Sisk said. “My parents can’t throw plastic or paper away because of me.”

Cody Snider, another fifth grader, says he and his dad and brother recycle together.

“We just like to do it,” he said.

During the assembly, Thain showed clips of the process that animals go through when they visit the wildlife hospital. They are initially examined, will likely have surgery to help them remove the litter, will rehabilitate and then will be released.

However, some animals grow accustomed to humans and cannot be returned to the wild. Peg, Emma and Misty are three such animals and are used as examples to illustrate how litter adversely affects them.

Peg is an orphan because her mother got into litter and was killed.

Thain explained that by leaving trash around, it could be harmful for years. She explained to students that metal cans can take 200 to 500 years to decompose and rubber tires will forever litter the Earth.

“We learned that a lot of pollutants take a long time to decompose,” recycler of the month Hallie Sisk said. “We shouldn’t throw things away.”