“Humans are not above nature, but are a part of it.” A science teacher at Alter High School, Jennifer Butler reminds her students of this regularly— especially those in her environmental science classes.

Butler’s classes and Michelle Denney’s earth science classes make up the school’s recycling program, which Butler initiated by entering a county contest.

“Paper, plastic, cardboard and aluminum were weighed at a facility in Dayton, so I had to load [into my truck] the six large barrels [I] found free at the Montgomery County Recycling Center …
and drive [them] to the Dayton location every two weeks,” said Butler.

Students contributed to Butler’s efforts by bagging up plastic and aluminum materials during class. At the county contest close, Butler had the most donations, earning the first place prize of $2,000.

“That got me hooked,” said Butler. “The barrels, which were just the thick brown paper barrels, were repainted by my next year’s class and we did it again.

Butler said she used the winnings to buy recycling bins for each classroom, and the school purchased new, durable barrels. She also secured a paper recycling bin for the school, so no one has to make the drive to the county recycling center any more.

Students in Butler and Denney’s classes are now responsible for maintaining the school’s recycling program.

“[The students] must walk around the school and collect all of the recycling bins from the classrooms,” said Denney. About once every two weeks, students empty the bins into the recycling containers, which Rumpke empties weekly.

Butler added that she takes her students once or twice a semester to pick up trash outside, enabling students to grasp the true severity of “I believe that God created the Earth and nature within it for us to enjoy, and [He] entrusted us to take care of it,” said Denney. “We as humans have not done such a good job of this, so now I believe the right thing to do is to teach future generations to be environmentally conscious and respect God’s creation. Caring for Earth is part of caring for other people (and people groups), because we all are part of the Earth and live off the resources.”

“I hope the students think about taking care of something from which they may not see the immediate benefit; I want them to care about something other than themselves, to be empathetic,” said Butler. “I want them to see that something needs to be done and do it. I don’t want them to expect someone else to do what they see should be done.”

This article appeared in the April 2024 edition of The Catholic Telegraph Magazine. For your complimentary subscription, click here.