Redemption Center Tours

Matt Martinelli, Allegany Arc Intern
July 29, 2010

Immaculate Conception School (ICS) hosts Accord's After School Summer Camps, a 21^st Century Grant-funded Program that focuses on technology and learning. Principal Norah Burdick explained that ICS likes to do the camps every summer, and they have added more as they've gone along. Teacher Tammy Blouvet runs Flip Camp where students in grades 5-8 are learning to a write a script and edit a persuasive video on a topic of their choice. One group of Flip Campers decided to do their videos on the important green topic of recycling.

On Monday, July 12^th, a class of 25 students from two camps took a walking field trip to visit the Wellsville Redemption Center to learn, observe and get a hands-on look at the mass recycling process. Aside from the grand tour, the students were given the opportunity to put gloves on and sort cans with the workers. Most of the students enjoyed the experience; a couple of them saying they would do it for a living. Several of them plugged their noses against the smell, their teachers reminding them that it's a dirty business.

The students' lesson on recycling was that a little dirt and hard work go a long way towards a clean environment. They were all able to take away new ideas about the work involved in recycling to incorporate into their scripts and videos.

Allegany Arc's Business and Program Development Director Michele Nye and Wellsville Redemption Center Supervisor John Steiner gave the tour of the business. Mrs. Nye began the tour by asking for a show of hands from those who have utilized the services of the Wellsville Redemption Center. Student and teacher alike raised a hand to answer in the positive, about half of the group being patrons of the business. Mrs. Nye took the students through the area where cans and bottles are checked-in to the tables where they are sorted. Items are sorted into separate boxes by can, bottle, and manufacturer. The kids were able to see the process of full bags being lifted from the boxes and piled in the corner ready to be shipped out.

One student was there equipped with a camera to record the process from beginning to end. The camp runs two weeks, giving the students a short period of time to create and produce their videos.

Their Wellsville Redemption Center trip took them to the center of it all, where recycling cleans the environment every day. Principal Burdick was inspired by the trip, expressing her interest in getting ICS more involved in recycling and the Wellsville Redemption Center itself.

The next camp is a craft camp, and other summer camps include a math and reading camp. Previous camps have included Scratch Camp, a computer camp where students work and interact with computers to foster learning and Photography Camp. For now, Flip Camp is making waves in the lives of students demonstrating the importance of green thinking even at a young age.

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