VEC for Kids

Attention geocaching fans: the Verona EC cache "The Grove" is now live, you can get the GPS coordinates HERE - This is a real-world, free outdoor treasure hunting game using GPS-enabled devices. Participants navigate to a specific set of coordinates and then attempt to find the hidden cache (container) at that location. If you take something from the cache, leave something of equal or greater value. Write about your find in the cache logbook. The Geocaching Logo is a registered trademark of Groundspeak, Inc. Used with permission. Happy geocaching!

Tips for Kids

Kids can help to save water.Even if you do each day just one of the things listed below you’re doing the right thing! For more water conservation tips please visit The Water Page.

Don’t leave the water running while you wash your hands. Wet your hands and
turn the water off completely. Use soap and then turn the
water on to rinse.

Don’t leave the
water running while you’re brushing your teeth.Turn the faucet on to get your toothbrush and toothpaste
wet, and then again to rinse your mouth and toothbrush.

Tell adults at home and at school when faucets are dripping or toilets liking so it can be repaired.A liking toilet can waste 600 gallons each month! Suggest them to use “low-flow” toilet and shower head to conserve water. A regular shower head uses as
much as 7 gallons of water every minute!

Take short showers instead of baths. Bath use a lot of water, about 37 gallons!

Use
a wastebasket for used tissues, or things like gum wrappers or paper
towels. Don’t flush them. The average
flush uses as much as 5 gallons of water!

Do
you have plants in your house? When meals are prepared and vegetables
or other fresh produce are washed, collect that water and use it to
water the plants. Or put a barrel outdoors to catch rain water and use it to water your plants.

Do you like a drink of
cold water now and then? Rather than running the kitchen faucet for
several minutes to get cold water, keep a pitcher of water in the
refrigerator.

If
there is a dishwasher in your house, encourage everyone to scrape their
plates rather than rinse them before loading them into the machine. It
should always be full before turning it on.

In the summertime,
it’s fun to play under the lawn sprinkler. When you do, make sure it’s
when the lawn is being watered at the same time.If the adults in your home occasionally water the
lawn, encourage them to water in the cooler parts of the day (early
morning, or after sunset), and never on windy days. This prevents water being
lost to evaporation. Suggest adults to mow as high as the mower goes (3 to 4 inches). A taller cut helps
shade out weeds and conserve moisture.

Verona kids are doing their green homework!

Poster Exhibit: Every year since 2009 Verona public elementary schools' students help to improve our air quality by participating in the VEC’s Idle
Free Verona annual poster contest. All artwork submitted in 2011 is currently on display at the Essex County
Environmental Center in Roseland, NJ. Open to all and free of charge! Monday
through Friday from 9 am to 5 pm
and Saturdays from 10 am to 2 pm. The Center is located at 621 Eagle
Rock Avenue, Roseland, NJ 07068. Pictured is Tara Casella, the center's director visiting the exhibit. For more information please call the ECEC at (973) 228-8776.

Visit the new Walk to School Day and Idle Free poster contest pages with plenty of photos from the event and continue walking throughout the year!

Green Cleaning: In early 2009, ten students from Laning Avenue School attended a Board of Education meeting to ask that "green" cleaning
products be used at Verona's schools.The students reminded us all of the health hazards
associated with traditional cleaning products. The school district is currently phasing out cleaning

Forest Avenue School celebrated Earth Day by hosting four Recycling Workshops on 2013.Students Grade 1 through 4 participated in hands-on presentations organized by the school SCA and the Verona Environmental Commission. Students demonstrated how to flatten corrugated cardboard boxes to be dropped off at the Verona Recycling Center. They sorted out items for recycling collection learning the difference between aluminum and tin cans, corrugated cardboard and paper board, etc. They learned about household hazardous waste and items made with 100% recycled content. Sometimes recycling can be a bit confusing, but now students are experts on Verona's Recycling Programs! Pictured student Stephanie Zimany sorting recyclable items.products that are not environmentally friendly. Well done!

F.N.Brown Eco Fair

F. N. Brown School holds an Annual Eco-Fair on May every year. About 250 students participate creating amazing objects with recycled materials, such as musical instruments, animals, historical figures and posters.

Students play the commission's educational games, such as “How Long it Takes to Decompose”, pictured here with the VEC member Gerard Shimonaski. All grades visit the exhibit and learn environmental facts during the school day. The exhibit remains open after school for the whole family to attend.

The three R's

To help Verona save money and go "Green" please watch our presentation about Verona's Recycling Programshere, created by
VEC members targeting third and fourth grade students.

The VEC presented this program at the
following schools: Forest Ave., Laning Ave. (pictured left), F.N.Brown,
Brookdale Ave. and Our Lady of the Lake. SEE MORE PICTURES HERE

The three R's of the environment are reduce, reuse and recycle.
Every year we throw away 50 billion of food and drink cans in the U.S.
More than 30% of our waste is packaging materials and 85% of our garbage
goes to a dump; where it can take hundreds of years to decompose. We
are running out of space! Don't buy things you don't need or items that
come in wasteful packaging. Avoid also things that cannot be recycled.
Reduce consumption, reuse manufactured products andrecyclewhatever you can.

The Verona Recycling Center located at 10 Commerce
Ct. is open on Wednesdays and Saturdays, 8:30 am to 3:30 pm.

Science Projects

Ready to Go to School...GREEN?

Considering that in the U.S. we throw away 2.5 millionplastic bottles
every hour and 86% of those are NOT recycled; going to school offers a
great opportunity to go "green". The first two ingredients of a low-waste lunch are a reusable lunch container and a refillable bottle. Try "I will pack my own lunch and
avoid disposable packaging" or "This
will be the year I walk to school every time". Improve your health
while you help the planet!
Ready to get greener? Check out GO TO SCHOOL GREEN!

Games and Activities

Welcome to Recycle City! This kid friendly site from the EPA has games, activities, and fun facts to show you why recycling is so important.

Soil Composting Activity
This fun activity can show you how to make fertile soil out of things
you would find in a trash can. Fertile soil helps plants grow and can
provide food for lots of people.

Sort Mania Game This game by the Enviromental Protection Agency that will show you how to sort and recycle.

Planet Protectors Club Check out how you can be a member of the Planet Protectors Club for Kids! It involves fun games and activities.

Yucky Worm World Check out the yuckiest site on the internet and how worms are professional recyclers.