Rising to the Challenge

Harloe students use environmental challenge to raise money for classmate

By Steve Fairchild / Staff Writer
Times Press Recorder - Pulitzer Central Coast Newspaper

May 18, 2005

Margaret Harloe Elementary School students learned the importance of caring for the environment while raising funds for a student with a kidney condition during Jiminy Cricket's Environmentality Challenge 2005.

Teacher Steve Scudder and his fifth-grade class received awards, lunch bags and a plaque during a special assembly Tuesday in the school cafeteria. The students showed a brief video to classmates, parents, teachers and district staff.

Scudder's students collected more than 750 cell phones, pagers and ink cartridges from community members, took a tour of the Cold Canyon Landfill and educated other students as part of the statewide competition designed to promote environmental responsibility.

The challenge encourages students to develop action projects that target real-world problems. It was the first year the class has competed. They were among 40,000 students from more than 1,300 classes in the state to enter the challenge.

"The students designed and implemented the project themselves," Scudder said. "I sat back and made sure nobody got hurt."

Celeste Royer, statewide manager of the California Regional Environmental Education Community Network, presented the awards and announced that the Harloe class was chosen a state semifinalist in the challenge. The winning class will receive a trip to Disneyland and California Adventure theme parks.

Royer urged the class to make a pledge to care for the environment every day.

The students donated the money raised from the recycling program to the Nephcure Foundation to help find a cure for their classmate's disease. Kelsey Cajas has suffered from a kidney illness called nephrotic syndrome since the age of 4. The condition causes her kidneys to leak protein when she gets ill.

Cajas read a touching speech while her mother, Traci Cajas, held the microphone for her.

"I'd like to thank everybody for the ink cartridges and cell phones," she said. "We are raising lots of money for research to find a cure for my illness."

Cajas also told her classmates that she visited the Los Angeles Children's Hospital last week, and her doctor is going to taper off her medicine. She said she hopes not to relapse.

Adults in the audience gave her a standing ovation.

"She is the reason why we worked so hard," Scudder said.

The Environmentality Challenge, launched in 1994, is a partnership between The Walt Disney Co. and the state of California's Environmental Education Interagency Network.

Staff writer Steve Fairchild can be reached at 489-4206, Ext. 5014, or sfairchild@pulitzer.net.