3:41 p.m., Oct. 27, 2008----Four- and 5-year-olds in Nancy Edwards' afternoon class at the University of Delaware's Laboratory Preschool joined in campus-wide Sustainability Day events on Oct. 22 with a march to a campus recycling facility, bringing with them materials they had collected in Alison Hall, home of the College of Human Services, Education and Public Policy (CHEP).

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Wearing hats they had created from newspaper and pulling wagons full of paper, cans and bottles, the “Earth Guards” made their way to the Delaware Solid Waste Authority's depository for recyclables located behind Pearson Hall.

The children had been preparing for their march for several weeks through a variety of activities in their classroom. In the block area, for example, the children played out a scene with houses, people and a recycling center and truck. At the art table, they created collages using recycled materials.

The preschoolers also conducted a recycling survey in Alison Hall, interviewing faculty and staff in the building to find out what each person wanted to recycle. They then labeled boxes with signs for the different materials and placed them outside of offices. Prior to their march, they collected and sorted the items.

On their way to the recycling center, the children sang the “Earth Guard Rap”:

We are the Earth Guards
And we're here to say
Save the Earth!
Yeah, do it today!
Yeah, do it today!

We pick up our litter,
We clean up the yard,
Recycle our goods,
Yeah, we are the Earth Guards!
Yeah, we are the Earth Guards!

Article by Beth Chajes
Photos by Ambre Alexander