FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Portsmouth, Va. — March 21, 2014 — Eighth graders from W.E. Waters Middle School in Portsmouth participating in the 20th Annual Wheelabrator Environmental Symposium are raising the bar for environmental consciousness in their community. As part of their oyster-growing project, the students will engage three local families to house and raise their oyster spats. On Saturday, March 22nd, the class will visit the homeowners to hand over the oysters and oyster floats, and instruct families on how to raise their oysters.
“The children are learning the importance of oysters to provide habitats and filter out impurities in the water in our local rivers and the Chesapeake Bay,” says science teacher Sherrye Pollard. “Our hope is that the knowledge these families gain from our students will spread to the rest of the community and increase awareness and environmental consciousness.”
The students will visit the homes of all three families this Saturday, March 22nd starting at 9 a.m. and spend about forty-five minutes with each family to pass on what they’ve learned working with the oysters so far.
Schedule of Events:
9 a.m. Ray & Ellen Comstock -2408 Sterling Point Drive
10 a.m. Tom & Mary Miano 4105 Faber Road
11 a.m. John & Nancy Reid 2712 Sterling Point Drive
This is the fifth year W.E. Waters Middle School has participated in the Symposium. As part of the program, ten of the students will travel to South Florida in May to present their projects to a panel of Wheelabrator employees, educators and environmental experts at the annual 4-day Symposium.
To celebrate the 20th anniversary of the Wheelabrator Symposium for Environment and Education, the theme of the 2014 Wheelabrator Symposium, “Connecting to the Oceans,” is designed to engage students in research, scientific study and community projects linking the quality of the local environment to the health of the seas around us.
Some 150 students will travel to South Florida in May to present their projects to a panel of Wheelabrator employees, educators and environmental experts at the annual 4-day Symposium. Cousteau will serve as a guest speaker at the Symposium’s 20th anniversary celebration. Past student projects have covered a diverse array of environmental issues, including air quality, the impact of climate change and wildlife habitat preservation.
Over the past two decades, the Wheelabrator Symposium has empowered more than 3,000 middle school students throughout the U.S. to create innovative solutions to environmental issues, become leaders in their communities, and build their interest in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) concepts. Because of their involvement in the Symposium, a number of students have gone on to pursue environmental-related degrees and careers.
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ABOUT WHEELABRATOR TECHNOLOGIES INC.
A wholly owned subsidiary of Waste Management, Wheelabrator Technologies Inc. is a leader in the safe and environmentally sound conversion of municipal solid waste and other renewable waste fuels into clean energy. Wheelabrator owns or operates 17 waste-to-energy facilities that provide safe waste disposal for towns and cities across the U.S. Wheelabrator also operates four independent power plants designed to generate electricity using an assortment of fuels, including waste wood, waste coal, and natural gas. In addition to producing electricity, some of these facilities also produce steam sold to nearby government and commercial establishments. Wheelabrator’s 21 facilities have a combined electric generating capacity of 853 megawatts, enough energy to power more than 900,000 homes. To learn more, visit www.wheelabratortechnologies.com.Tweet @WM_WTI.
ABOUT WASTE MANAGEMENT
Waste Management, Inc., based in Houston, Texas, is the leading provider of comprehensive waste management services in North America. Through its subsidiaries, the company provides collection, transfer, recycling and resource recovery, and disposal services. It is also a leading developer, operator and owner of waste-to-energy and landfill gas-to-energy facilities in the United States. The company’s customers include residential, commercial, industrial, and municipal customers throughout North America. To learn more information about Waste Management, visit www.wm.com or www.thinkgreen.com.
