Boyd County Family and Consumer Sciences (FCS) Advisory Council has been identifying issues that affect county residents while considering programs that will make a long term impact in the future. Boyd County Cooperative Extension Service partners with the local Public Library that has an active member on the FCS Advisory Council. In a time where we have many natural disasters and many people going hungry or homeless, our thoughts focus on what we are we leaving intact to be a resource for tomorrow? Environmental education is a life-long learning process that continuously encourages understanding of and actions beneficial to the environment through different age appropriate activities. The goal of environmental education is to create environmentally literate citizens who are prepared to make wise choices and decisions. The preservation of Kentucky’s resources for future generations depends on the effectiveness of these citizens and the environmental education process.

            This program focused on one component of environmental education- awareness of nature and of conflicts between the built and natural aspects of our environment.  Participants involved became more aware of the environment around us through reading a book. The book, I am Mr. Ellie Pooh, the world’s only living paper mill (Ranasinghe 2006), captures the attention of the participant by bringing to life  the main character, a cute loveable elephant, who only desires to live in his natural environment. The book explains a conflict in a section of jungle that takes place between elephants and humans. A resolution was found by identifying an abundance of a natural resource, elephant dung, which was developed into a new product. This product was to be developed with no effect to the land or the elephants.  This waste product not only stimulated economic growth in an underdeveloped area but also brought humans and animals closer together in a relationship that was beneficial to both. 

            Facilitators lead discussion about how participants can take waste and make something beneficial. Talk centered on recycling plastic bottles – one stated they had seen benches at a local park made out of recycled plastic. Another great discussion about eating our leftover food; one youth participant exclaimed in horror “you can’t eat leftovers, they are poisonous!” This created an excited discussion for many about what we can do with unwanted food. Many youth began to realize that an unopened carton of milk or an unbitten apple could be shared with a friend where as a partial sandwich or meal could be saved later for personal consumption. 

            To help connect the participants to the story of Mr. Ellie Pooh they created flower bombs using mulched recycled paper like that discussed in the book. Many of the participants were surprised that something useful could be made from a waste product. This stimulated discussion about how “used” items can be resourced or reused if we consider the alternatives instead of throwing them in the trash. This discussion focused on how we are use our land to dispose of a vast amount of garbage, which lead to a solution. The more we reuse instead of just use and throw away the more resources we will have available for the future. 

            Environmental learners must move past this awareness and develop basic understandings of ecology and also human driven processes such as agriculture, mining, energy production, economics, legislative procedures and much more. Moving past this awareness will inspire individuals to develop and implement true change that will preserve not only our resources but our environment as well. This initial program was delivered to a diverse group consisting of approximately 500 youth and adult participants. This program began as a partnership with the library and grew into an event that other local agencies wanted delivered to their participants. The impact from reading and reinforcing what you read with an activity is imperative in spreading a message such as Recycling is Da Bomb!

           Highlands Museum sponsored an event, Kids Fest, over 600 people interacted with Mr. Ellie Pooh and Recycling is Da Bomb activities. Participants at this event consisted of adults whose youth had participated in our recycling activities prior to this event. This event consisted of the book being read to the group and then participants had the opportunity to make a flower bomb out of the recycled mulched paper. Various parents reiterated to us how the concept is easy but they “never really thought about my change making any difference.” This event allowed us the opportunity to reinforce the meaning of reusing and recycling with some youth that we had already seen as well as spreading the message to their parents. Various reports from parents identified how behavior changes were evident such as- many of the youth were now more aware of the resources they were using and not wasting; several parents stated that their child(ren) were now asking if items they used could be recycled; and many youth were now wanting to know what new products could be made from the