La Paz Community School Goes Green

The fifth and sixth-grade kids at La Paz Community School in Flamingo, Costa Rica are going green with a project designed to rid the world of plastic – one bag at a time.

Known as their Pura Verde Project, the kids have raised money to buy reusable shopping bags, which they will now sell in the community.

“We started the project with the idea to reduce the amount of plastic bags in Guanacaste and eventually in the whole world,” said ten-year-old Allee McKown last week.

“About 500 billion plastic bags are used every year,” she said. “They pollute our soil and water ways.”

Jackson Rothermel (11) said the distinctive green bags, which are made from non-woven polypropylene and feature the school’s logo, had come from the Earthwise Bag Company in California. The class had raised money to pay $1.50 for each of 1000 bags, which would now be sold for $5.

“We will be using the money to sponsor children to the school’s scholarship fund,” explained ten-year-old, Maxine Murray.

Nicolas Dommers (10) said the class had gone to Playa Grande last year and learned of the dangers of plastic bags to the turtle population.

“The guides were telling us how the turtles were dying because they were choking on plastic bags,” Nicolas said. “They think they are jellyfish.”

The Harrington Family Foundation is excited to partner with family friend, Brian Crites, 5th/6th grade teacher at La Paz Community School in Costa Rica, who is teaching his students to help make the world a more environmentally friendly place to live for everyone.