Congratulations, REAP! Last week, Alaskans for Litter Prevention and Recycling (ALPAR) presented the group with its annual Leadership in Education Award.
Colleen (middle) accepts the Leadership in Education award from Joel Kadarauch, ALPAR Board Secretary, (left) and Executive Director Mary Fisher (right)
The award recognizes REAP’s efforts to educate the community about energy efficiency, energy conservation, and recycling.
“Energy and recycling is very intersectional,” said ALPAR executive director Mary Fisher. “The recycling industry needs organizations like REAP that regularly make the case for managing our waste by recycling.”
Colleen Fisk, REAP’s Energy Education Director, was praised for her enthusiastic outreach. “Colleen does an outstanding job of teaching about energy and the importance of recycling in sustainable energy management,” Fisher said.
When Colleen began working for REAP almost two years ago, she was pleased to learn that the organization valued the five R’s (reusing, reducing, recycling, refusing, and rotting) as much as she did.
Now as REAP’s energy education director, Colleen helps foster this interest in others. In her teacher training sessions, she organizes tours of the Anchorage recycling center and discusses the relationship between energy and recycling.
Colleen is excited to expand REAP’s recycling education program. “This award has motivated me to include even more recycling in energy education,” she said.
Colleen and REAP staff Lydia Darby dressed up as “Pollution Pirates” to attend the banquet.
This month, she and a group of Mat-Su teachers will tour Valley Community Recycling Solutions as part of a teacher training. For an Anchorage training session, Colleen has invited Anchorage School District Recycling Coordinator Andres Benitez to discuss the school district’s recycling efforts. He will also discuss the EPA’s iWarm tool, a way for individuals to measure the energy they saved by recycling.
Colleen also plans to write a recycling lesson plan for the AK EnergySmart curriculum. When completed, teachers will be able to use the lesson plan in the classroom as part of an energy unit.
Recycling saves resources, decreases pollution, reduces greenhouse gases, and plays an important role in conserving energy. According to ALPAR, “No one is sending this message better in Alaska than REAP.”
Learn about the other awardees on the ALPAR’s website here.
Written by Abby Charles. Originally posted on REAP’s website here.