Orange Grove Elementary participates in MDOT’s ‘Operation Clean Up’

‘Don’t trash Mississippi’ was the theme at one Gulfport area school today as students learned more about keeping the environment clean and healthy.

Students like Orange Grove Elementary’s Joey Quick are now swept up in making good choices to help save the environment. “It motivated me to instead of just think about, well, what can happen to us, we should think about what happens to the entire planet.”

Litter prevention specialists from MDOT headlined ‘Operation Clean Up’ at the school by holding an interactive presentation spotlighting the harmful effects of littering by using real world examples and statistics.

Students had the chance to learn about recycling and maintaining a healthy environment. While at school they also pitched in by sweeping and picking up trash to keep Orange Grove clean. MDOT Litter Prevention Specialist Jessica Warrington said, “Some of it was a shock to them, like just how much plastic we use, how much it affects our oceans, how much it affects our wildlife. Some of those things were a shock for them, but I really think that they were very receptive to a lot of our message.”

By hearing about the effects of litter and playing a part in cleaning it themselves, ‘Operation Clean Up’ now has students thinking about what they can do to help in their communities. Beta Club President Daisy Davis said, “I will go to local cleanups to just clean around the beach. I would go to the park and clean.”

Others recognize they will be the next generation of leaders who will provide even more solutions to problems facing the environment. “This speaks to everyone in a way because it’s us that’s gonna have to do this and we should know how to do it.”