'It's killing the earth': Grade 1 students ask province to ban plastic bags
After visit to "plastic forest," Bishop Feild students take action
They might only be six years old, but these students at Bishop Feild Elementary in St. John's are saying enough is enough when it comes to plastic bags.
After a recent field trip to the Robin Hood Bay dump, Grade 1 students Oscar Elms, Abigail Tucker and Ben Harris were shocked to learn about the "plastic forest" — a section of the East Coast Trail covered with plastic bags that have blown over from the dump.
"The thing that I saw was a plastic forest that's full of plastic shopping bags," said Oscar Elms in an interview with CBC's St. John's Morning Show Monday.
"It was so gross. It disgusted me, it disturbed me."
With advice from teacher Andrea Howard, city councillor Maggie Burton and deputy mayor Sheilagh O'Leary, two Grade 1 classes at Bishop Feild Elementary decided to write a letter to Environment Minister Andrew Parsons asking for a total plastic bag ban across Newfoundland and Labrador.
We are only 6 years old and want our planet to stay pretty for our future. We have an idea ... maybe if you gave every household big garbage cans for the recycling program you can now give them 10 re-usable bags to get them started on banning plastic bags!-A section of the letter sent by Grade 1 students at Bishop Feild Elementary
They sent it on Friday.
"There was plastic bags blowing in the trees, plastic bags on the ground," said Abigail Tucker.
"I don't know how much there were, about a hundred. I was really worried that there was gonna be animals choking on it and they were gonna think it's food."
Waiting on response from Parsons
Howard said her students have been learning all about environmental sustainability.
"It's a big part of our health curriculum, respecting our environments, teaching kids to recycle and re-use," she said.
The students would like to see the bags banned, and reusable bags made the new normal.
"We've got to stop using plastic bags and use cloth and paper bags and use reusable bags," said Benjamin Harris.
"If we throw them on the ground, it's killing the earth."
Minister Parsons has yet to reach out to the students, but they are awaiting a reply.
With files from the St. John's Morning Show