Rosa Parks on board with ‘no idling’
Author: Tammy Lane • First Posted: Wednesday, November 09, 2011
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Rosa Parks students handed out "no idling" magnets at the start of Week 2, when they made direct appeals to drivers in the car-riders line after school.
Behind Rosa Parks Elementary, the Energy Stars fanned out among the vehicles lined around the block and urged drivers to shut off their engines while waiting to pick up students after school.
“Sometimes they stay a long time,” 10-year-old Mollie Hurst noted. “Cars run on fuel, and it all goes into the air, and it’s not good to breathe in.”
“If they’re not idling, you can say ‘Good job.’ If they are, it’s a reminder,” classmate Olivia Turner added as the girls handed out refrigerator magnets amid the school’s three-week “No Idling” campaign.
This program is part of the districtwide E=USE2 initiative (Education leads to Understanding Sustainability, Energy and the Environment). The Energy Stars, formerly known as the “green” team, lead the efforts at Rosa Parks with nearly 20 children in grades 4 and 5 involved this fall.
The students have reached out through bulletin boards in the hallways, public service announcements on the morning news show, emails to families and a Sustainability Fair at school.
They also collected baseline data on the number of vehicles in the car-riders’ line at 2:45 p.m. and the number of cars idling. Averaging several days’ results, they found that nearly a quarter of some 80 drivers sat for several minutes with engines running.
“We’ve already figured out most cars are idling when it’s bad weather,” said Olivia, who suggested a goal of reducing the percentage from 23 to 10.
Week 2 involved a direct appeal to drivers.
In one approach, the children emphasized how idling vehicles negatively affect air quality. Airborne particles can cause nasal, throat, respiratory and eye problems, and are particularly harmful to people with asthma. Youngsters are more vulnerable, too, because of their developing lungs.
Students also explained how in addition to clearing the air, drivers can save money by not idling. If a vehicle sits still for more than 30 seconds, it is more fuel-efficient to turn off the engine because two minutes of idling uses about the same amount of gasoline it takes to drive a mile. Idling also causes more wear and tear on engine parts.
Along with the magnets, the kids planned to distribute “no idling” pencils, key chains and pledge cards. In the final week, they will check the car-line data again for comparison and hand out thank-you notes.
ELL (English Language Learners) and reading intervention teacher Suzanna Weisenfeld and fourth-grade teacher Katy Hollinger coordinated the Energy Stars’ efforts.
“Some people will gravitate to this and ‘get it’ and apply it. There will be other people who don’t,” Weisenfeld said. “The bottom line is we’re educating these kids so they can carry this on to their adult life. We’re hoping they’re the ones who will do the right thing.”
The back story
Fayette County Public Schools is partnering with Earth Day Network and the Kentucky Division for Air Quality to provide resources and materials to reduce harmful vehicle emissions around schools and instill strong environmental values in the next generation.
“By educating their own parents, their impact can be felt. Just a few students collecting that data and raising awareness can have a huge impact on their school community,” said Tresine Logsdon, the district’s energy and sustainability curriculum coordinator. “It’s really about educating the students because they will be the ones changing their parents’ behavior.”
Julius Marks Elementary piloted the “No Idling” program last spring, followed by Rosa Parks Elementary this fall. Logsdon plans to start promoting it again around March as the weather warms up.
“We’ll probably have ‘no idling’ signs at all our schools within the next five years or so,” she predicted.
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