ST. LAWRENCE DEANERY — At St. Aloysius Gonzaga School in Bridgetown, Peggy Cappel’s fellow faculty members have affectionately dubbed her the "Queen of Trash."

It’s certainly not the most glamorous title, but Cappel, who teaches first grade, doesn’t mind at all. It reflects her efforts to teach not only her students but the entire St. Al’s community about the importance of recycling and caring for the environment.
Her work was honored recently when she was named Hamilton County’s Outstanding Recycling Educator by the county’s Solid Waste Management District.

Cappel brings a lifelong interest in ecology, which she attributes to the influence of her parents, to the classroom. "I’m one of eight children, and my parents lived through the Depression era, so we were taught to save everything and don’t waste. I’ve just always believed that the earth is important to us. We are its keepers, and we need to be good stewards," she said.

COURTESY PHOTO

Peggy Cappel, left, poses with Holly Christmann of the Hamilton County Waste Management District after receiving an award for her efforts as an outstanding recycling educator.

The youngsters also go on a field trip to Rumpke’s landfill to view the mountain of trash. Upon returning to the classroom, they build their own mountain, using cookie crumbs and pudding to represent the layers of the landfill. Although the first graders particularly enjoy the opportunity to eat their creation, Cappel said the activity also illustrates the point that, "we throw too much away and don’t need another mountain of trash."

Her primary goal, explained Cappel, is to teach the children to "be good to the earth. It may be just a small corner of the earth that we’re taking care of, but it’s our corner to care for and save for these children’s children," she said. "We’re such a throw-away society, and I want the students to be able to identify what comes from the earth and what we can do to conserve its resources."

The first-graders have embraced Cappel’s dedication to environmental education with enthusiasm, as has the rest of the school. There are recycling bins in every classroom and containers to collect brown lunch bags in the cafeteria. Cappel’s authorship of a grant several years ago funded the start of a commingling recycling program through which school families and parish members bring aluminum, paper and plastics to large recycling dumpsters in the school parking lot. In addition, Cappel initiated the recycling of Kroger plastic shopping bags and empty ink cartridges.

This school year Cappel and second- grade teacher Kathy Holscher started the St. Al’s E-Club (E for environment) for third,-fourth-and fifth-graders. The students meet twice monthly after school to learn about environmental issues and participate in related activities. Club members have divided areas within the school to maintain recycling bins and responsibilities. At a recent meeting, students learned how to pack a ‘garbage-free’ lunch, and there are plans to educate the entire school on throwing less away, along with holding a possible challenge in March to see which lunch period can have the least amount of garbage. Future activities include learning composting and creating a garden on school grounds, Cappel said.

Magness nominated the environmentally conscious teacher for the countywide award for the impact her efforts have made at St. Al’s. Cappel received a plaque made of recycled glass at the third annual Recycling Awards Luncheon held in November.