The students at David Livingstone Elementary School in East Vancouver ended their school year on a green note. Through a recycling program sponsored by Encorp Pacific, students, staff, and parents participated all year-long in helping to raise $5,000. This effort was the best result achieved in Vancouver and saw them ranked third in same-sized elementary schools in B.C.

In a world where people are scrambling to buy the next green thing to help them save the planet, these kids kept it simple. They recycled.

David Livingstone is a small school of about 300 students, ranging from kindergarten to grade 7, with a close relationship to its community. The hunt begins in September each year, according to Dorothy Watkins, a Grade 6 and 7 teacher at the school, and the kids are constantly on the lookout for things they can recycle.

“Parents have come to know what we are doing with this program and they are always bringing in more bottles for the students, they are an instrumental part to the recycling program,” Watkins says.

The program has proved triumphant in helping students not only to gain a great appreciation for the environment, but also to help raise funds for extracurricular activites for the students.

Throughout the year, contests are held to help increase the amount of recyclables pupils can collect. The program has become so popular over the years that their environmentally savvy ways have rubbed off on the local high school, Sir Charles Tupper Secondary.