 The three PRIDE Campuses of the Year recently visited the Environmental Education Center at Toyota Motor Manufacturing, Kentucky, Inc. (TMMK). Two of the schools also toured the TMMK factory, where up to 500,000 cars are manufactured a year with no landfill waste. The free field trips were their rewards for winning the PRIDE Elementary School, Middle School and High School Campus of the Year Awards.
“Teachers tell us that environmental field trips are a good incentive for students, and we thought the Toyota tour would be really eye opening,” said Karen Engle, who heads PRIDE, which is southern and eastern Kentucky’s environmental cleanup and education campaign.
On April 28, 22 Leslie County High School (LCHS) students toured the 50-acre TMMK Environmental Education Center, which surrounds the manufacturing plant in Georgetown. They hiked a one-mile nature trail through old and second-growth forests. The area includes wetlands, prairies and woodlands, along with many native plants and wildlife.
“This trip just reaffirmed our vision for environmental education,” said Kim Cornett, the teacher who leads the high school’s PRIDE activities. “Toyota prides itself on using a lot of recycled items to enhance and maintain their nature trail. We likewise acknowledge the importance of recycling and being creative to enhance our own trail.”
An example of creativity along TMMK’s nature trail was a tree that had been struck by lightning. The tree stump and log were left to serve as teaching tools and a seating area. By counting the rings in the stump, visitors are asked to determine the age of the tree.
“I really liked the way the fallen tree had so much more to represent then just firewood,” said Durand Napier, a senior at LCHS. “The natural habitat made out of the fallen limbs was an excellent idea.”
“The nature trail was beautiful, and I really liked how it started out in the open and then took you through the woods,” said Holly Baker, also a senior.
On April 8, 25 Lee County Middle School (LCMS) students toured both the TMMK plant and Environmental Education Center. Twenty-five students from St. Camillus Academy, the Elementary School Campus of the Year, took the same field trip on April 22.
“My favorite part of the trip was the ride through the factory,” said LCMS 6th grader Michael Evans.
“The students enjoyed the actual tour of the Toyota Facility the most and were amazed that NOTHING is thrown away,” said LCMS teacher Teresa Brinegar, who sponsors the school’s PRIDE Club.
Since 2005, TMMK has followed a “zero-landfill” policy. By reducing, reusing and recycling, the plant no longer sends solid waste to the landfill. For example, the cafeteria’s food scraps are composted and wooden pallets are shredded into mulch for the nature trail.
“It took a lot of hard work and a lot of thinking ‘outside the box,’ but our environmental team made it happen,’ said Rick Hesterberg, Assistant Manager of External Affairs for Toyota Motor Engineering and Manufacturing North America. “Our philosophy is to go beyond the laws and rules and demonstrate a true commitment of environmental stewardship.”
The TMMK field trip inspired some new ideas for LCMS. “I think at LCMS we should do a lot more about recycling and we should sort out waste from compostable products and recycle as much as we can,” said Dakota Ross, who is a 6th grader.
“The students loved the pond area and realized that is one thing our club doesn’t have,” Brinegar said. “Our PRIDE Club would love to incorporate a water/wetland area of some type.”
The St. Camillus 4th and 5th graders said they most enjoyed riding in the tram through the factory, watching the cars being made by the robots and seeing workers assembling parts of the cars.
“They were also fascinated by the fact that 2,000 cars can be made every day with zero landfill waste,” said St. Camillus 4th-grade teacher Lynn Stivers.
St. Camillus students now want to make the school’s nature trail wider so more students can walk side by side. They also want to use the trunk of the next fallen tree as a seating area, like they saw at the TMMK nature trail. They mentioned getting Martin bird houses and squirrel feeders throughout the property.
“The things the students were able to see and learn are things they could never get in the classroom or from books and videos,” said Sister Ruth Parent, 5th-grade teacher. “The first hand experience is one they will always remember.”
The PRIDE Campus of the Year Awards recognize excellence in hands-on environmental learning. The schools' environmental education programs were creative and fostered community involvement while meeting state curriculum guidelines.
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