April 24, 2026 | Woodbury, Minnesota
This Earth Week, Earth on Us had the opportunity to bring environmental education back to a place that holds special meaning for me: Liberty Ridge Elementary School, my former elementary school.
The Recycle Right activity was implemented in a classroom led by my former teacher, Ms. Ryan, helping students learn how to properly sort common household items and understand the importance of reducing contamination in recycling streams.
Bringing Recycle Right to Liberty Ridge
The Earth on Us Recycle Right curriculum was created to address a common challenge in communities across the country: many people want to recycle, but they are often unsure what actually belongs in the recycling bin.
To make learning interactive and engaging, Earth on Us developed a hands-on board game where students sort everyday items into the correct categories, including recycling, compost, and trash. Through play, students practice making real-world waste-sorting decisions
while learning why contamination can make recycling less effective.
During Earth Week, Ms. Ryan introduced the activity to her students and incorporated the board game into classroom learning.
After the pilot, she shared simple but encouraging feedback:
“It went really well …”
For Earth on Us, that feedback represented exactly what we hoped to achieve: an activity that is easy for educators to use, enjoyable for students, and effective at teaching practical environmental skills.
A Meaningful Homecoming
The week after the classroom, I returned to Liberty Ridge to collect the completed game materials and student feedback.
Walking through the school doors brought back many memories. Liberty Ridge was where my educational journey began, and it was a special experience to return not as a student, but as the founder of a youth-led environmental education initiative.
Even more meaningful was the opportunity to reconnect with teachers who helped shape my early years. Seeing familiar faces, visiting classrooms, and sharing the progress of Earth on Us reminded me how much teachers influence students far beyond elementary school.
The visit served as a full-circle moment: the same school that nurtured my curiosity years ago was now helping pilot a curriculum designed to inspire the next generation of environmental leaders.
Why Recycle Right Matters
Recycling seems simple, but contamination remains one of the biggest challenges facing recycling programs. Items such as plastic bags, food-soiled containers, and other non-recyclables often end up in recycling bins, increasing costs and reducing the effectiveness of recycling systems.
The Recycle Right curriculum helps students:
- Identify common recyclable and non-recyclable items
- Understand why contamination matters
- Practice sorting materials correctly
- Build habits that can be shared with family members at home
- Recognize how individual actions contribute to environmental stewardship
By focusing on practical decision-making rather than memorization, students gain skills they can immediately apply in their daily lives.
Growing the Earth on Us Curriculum
The Liberty Ridge pilot was one of several Earth on Us curriculum pilots conducted during Earth Month 2026. Feedback from educators and students helps improve activities before broader distribution to schools, libraries, youth organizations, and community groups.
As a Woodbury student, it was especially rewarding to see the curriculum used in my own community and at the school where my educational journey first began.
Looking Ahead
Earth on Us is grateful to Ms. Ryan and Liberty Ridge Elementary School for supporting this pilot and helping students learn how small actions can create meaningful environmental impact.
Environmental stewardship does not always begin with large projects or major policy changes. Sometimes it starts with a simple question:
Should this item go in the recycling bin?
When students learn the answer and share that knowledge with others, they become part of the solution.
