MORRIS COUNTY — Three Parsippany youths and one Boonton Township youth in grades four to six were among twelve statewide winners in the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection’s 2016 State Recycling Poetry Contest.
Named as winners were:
Fourth grade: Sienna Dragone, Mount Tabor School and Gabriella Casamento, Rockaway Valley School, Boonton Township;
Fifth grade: Chris Stearns, Littleton Elementary School in Parsippany;
Sixth grade: Ami Balli, Central Middle School, also in Parsippany.
“We are very proud of these young people for their writing accomplishments and of their environmental consciousness,’’ said Morris County Freeholder Director Kathy DeFillippo. “They have represented their schools and towns and county very well.’’
The New Jersey 2016 Recycling Poetry Contest was open to young writers in all New Jersey schools, grades four through six.
Students were asked to submit a poem of 100 words or less explaining why they believe recycling is important, why all students and schools should participate in their local recycling programs, and how best to improve New Jersey’s recycling rate.
In reviewing the entries, the judges looked look for understanding of theme, originality, ability to convey a concept, and creative thinking and writing.
A review committee select the twelve winning poems.
Please, take a few minutes to read the poems written by these four Morris County youths by clicking here.
Morris County students have been successful in previous DEP recycling poetry contests. In 2015, Morris County also had four winners. They were Saanvi Vavilala, Mt. Tabor Elementary School and Gavin Jusino, Littleton Elementary School, both in Parsippany; Julia Bachman, Mountview Road School in Hanover Township; and Katrina Kloza, Rockaway Valley School in Boonton Township.
Recycling is the law in New Jersey, and while the program enjoys a certain amount of popularity, the recycling rate has remained virtually stationary over the last several years. The goal of the contest was to help encourage schools and students to recycle.
The NJDEP Bureau of Energy and Sustainability sponsored this contest as part of its ongoing public awareness and education effort.
Learn more about recycling in Morris County, click here.
Learn more about recycling in New Jersey by clicking here.
If you have questions concerning this contest or program, contact Vicki Kerekes, Contest Coordinator, at (609) 984-6906 or by e-mail by clicking here.
