News

The Illusion Maker teaches base children earth-friendly message

  • Published
  • By Tech. Sgt. Kevin Wallace
  • 436th AW Public Affairs
DOVER AIR FORCE BASE, Del. --  Dover Air Base Middle School students focused on their 'earthly' responsibilities as they participated in an interactive pro-environmental game show at the school gymnasium April 24.

The game show, titled "Who Wants to be a Know it All" was hosted by the Illusion Maker, David Boslough, and was funded by the 436th Civil Engineer Squadron Pollution Prevention and Qualified Recycling Program.

At the start of the show, Mr. Boslough gave the students a brief overview of the '3 Rs' of environmentalism: recycling, reusing and reducing. He also touched on conservation. Next, using true or false questions, Mr. Boslough randomly quizzed the students to select a male and female student from each side of the room to represent their team in the game show.

"If I could make the world better in just one way, I would plant as many trees and plants as I could," said 7th grader Ginny Hartung, who was the overall contest winner. "The trees help to make oxygen and create a better place for us all to live."

As the winner, Hartung was awarded some token prizes, a few of which she gave to the runner up, 7th grader Anthony Elliot. In addition to prizes awarded to the contest winner, each 6th, 7th and 8th grade student in attendance brought home packets of seeds to plant bushes and flowers around their own homes.

Though he didn't win the final round, Elliot still took home his own prize, new-found environmental knowledge and a packet of seeds to grow his own oxygen-producing plants.

"Before this day, I never knew that cigarette butts accounted for more of the earth's water pollution than anything else," said Elliot. "Also, I never thought about using sponges instead of paper towels to reduce the amount of trash we create. Remembering the '3 Rs' would really help our planet."

Mr. Boslough echoed the sentiment and seemed pleased the students accepted the information so invitingly.

"Most of the kids today have never known a world without recycling," said Mr. Boslough. "It is important to continue to educate and encourage healthy environmental habits, and for them to teach their families and friends as well. It's their world; it's up to them, and up to us, to take care of it."

It's profound to educate the children of Team Dover on topics like recycling, reusing, reducing, litter abatement and conservation, he said. Children and teenagers are perfect to receive this information as they are the future.

"I receive letters and e-mails from teachers, students and parents all the time telling me that after we did our show, the students organized a recycling program in their classroom or school, they got on their parents to recycle or they participated in a community clean-up day," said Mr. Boslough, who stresses parents think before they buy.

"If there is something that cannot be recycled, reused or refilled, is there a better choice or better product to by instead?" said Mr. Boslough. "It is up to all of us, not only to do what is healthy for the environment, but to teach our friends and families what they can do too."