Tag Archives: garbage

Heifer Around the Web: Garbage-Men Care For the Earth with Eco-Friendly Music

Posted on by
1

Every Sunday we will highlight some of the people who are funding our work creatively or helping us spread the word of our mission online. If you spot Heifer International while you’re surfing the web or know of a fun or creative fundraising effort, please share it with us here in the comments.

This is one of the most interesting stories I’ve come across lately. The Garbage-Men, a fun eco-friendly band of teenagers from Sarasota, Florida, make music using instruments made from recycled materials: guitars from boxes, a horn from pipes, and a keyboard from old bottles. Not only are they eco-friendy and care for the Earth, they give 100 percent of the money from one of their CDs, as well as money from merchandise, to Heifer. Read all about The Garbage Men on Time for Kids and their own website, thegarbagemen.com.

Garbage-Men play instruments from recycled objects

Teen band The Garbage-Men perform: (left to right) Jack Berry, Ollie Gray, Harrison Paparatto, Austin Siegel and Evan Tucker. Photo by Robin Rosen, www.timeforkids.com.

Basketball game for Heifer

Faculty and staff play students in a basketball game that benefits Heifer International. Photo credit: www.wabi.tv

Further north in Maine, the International Club at Eastern Maine Community College put together a basketball game with teams made up of students vs. coaches and faculty – entertaining for all. All the proceeds went to Heifer International. Watch some video taken by the local news here.

You’ll want to keep an eye on this group of adventures, the Arkansas Chuggabuggs. They are taking part in the grueling Mongol Rally, a 10,000 kilometer, six-week adventure across Eurasia in a second-hand car. They’ve selected Heifer  International as their team’s charity, and we can’t wait to hear more about their adventure!

Teen volunteer Kara Shen, of Central Bucks East, was honored at the 2012 Bucks County Teen Volunteer of the Year awards ceremony along with about a dozen other teens. Her work includes volunteering at Doylestown Hospital, teaching English to a class at a rural elementary school in Taiwan, serving as a peer tutor and participating in various service initiatives through Heifer International and the Key Club. Congratulations Kara!

Turkey at Heifer Ranch

A turkey walking the grounds at Heifer Ranch. Photo Credit: Flour Sack Mama

Flour Sack Mama (read the about section to find out the reason for the interesting name) blogger and her family visited Heifer Ranch. She wrote about their experiences and the Ranch itself every day this past week, well worth the read.

Nchimunya Muganya writes an opinion piece for the Times of Zambia on the positives of goat farming, and gives Heifer a mention about our willingness to set up a goat processing plan to enhance processing technology and value addition in the sector.

 

Taking Out the Trash — Where Does It Really Go?

Posted on by
0

Once a week we will be featuring a fun and/or educational activity you can try at home or in the classroom.

Animals forage in trash on the southern edge of Port-au-Prince.

Animals forage in trash on the southern edge of Port-au-Prince, eight months following the magnitude 7.0 earthquake that stuck January 12, 2010. Heifer International is part of the recovery efforts there.

With Earth Day only a week away — April 22 —  my mind is on garbage and what it does to our awesome planet. This experiment is a great way to find out what happens to garbage when we throw it in the trash.

When we throw something “away” does it really go away? What kinds of garbage break down the easiest? The fastest? The most? Let’s find out.

What you need:

  • A plastic container (like a yogurt cup)
  • 3 types of garbage (for example: vegetable peels, egg shells, mushrooms, nut shells, paper, aluminum foil or plastic)
  • Soil (from your yard, not potting soil)

Directions:

  • Fill a plastic container halfway with soil.
  • Add a little water, but only enough to make the soil wet, not watery.
  • Bury three kinds of garbage in the soil, one from each of the sets below:
    1. Vegetable peelings, bread, food leftovers
    2. Egg shells, nut shells, paper
    3. Aluminum foil, plastic, a penny
  • Make a list of the garbage and check it every day for changes.
  • Be sure the soil stays damp. Add a teaspoon of water each day, if necessary.

Make a chart to record your observations. Which materials break down the fastest, the most and the easiest? Which materials show no signs of breaking down?

After this experiment, think about the garbage you throw away. What can you do to lessen the materials that are hardest to break down? One way to lessen the materials is to compost. We will be offering several composting activities in the upcoming months like this blog post about worm bins and their valuable fertilizer.

Or read this article about food waste in America and what you can do about it.

You can find this and many other fun and informative activities in the Classroom Resources section of Heifer International’s website.