Children creating a better environment Published Nov. 18, 2008 By Airman 1st Class Anthony J. Hyatt 325th Fighter Wing Public Affairs TYNDALL AIR FORCE BASE, Fla. -- In celebration of America Recycles Day, Nov. 15, the 325th Civil Engineer Squadron Environmental flight held its second annual America Recycles Day contest Friday at Tyndall Elementary School. The purpose of America Recycles Day is to promote the social, environmental and economic benefits of recycling and encourage more people to join the movement toward creating a better natural environment, according to National Recycling Coalition. "Each classroom made an art project from recyclable materials such as plastic bottles, aluminum cans, cardboard and paper," said Sylvia Parzentny, 325th CES recycling program manager. "We want to encourage children to participate in recycling, so they can make their parents more interested." This year's theme was "what and how have you recycled lately?" Inspired by the upcoming holiday, students, pre-kindergarten to third grade, made turkeys from recyclable materials. Col. David Zeh, 325th Mission Support Group commander and Lt. Col. Keith Welch, 325th CES commander attended the event to judge the contest. "Children learn from what they live, so it's important for schools to foster a concern for protecting our environment to make our future world better," said Libbie Pippin, Tyndall Elementary School principal. As of last month, Tyndall was able to save more than 50 thousand dollars in land-fill costs through recycling efforts. Getting involved is as easy as taking a trip to one of the recycling drop-offs on base.