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Schools

Daly Elementary Hosts First Port Goes Green Expo

Local students and their parents learned about sustainability in Port Washington.

Green cleaning products, environmentally friendly homemade plastic and a sustainable documentary were some of the things on display at the first Port Goes Green Expo held at Daly Elementary School.

Mindy Germain, executive director of Residents for a More Beautiful Port Washington, which co-sponsored the event with the Daly Compact Committee, helped organize the Green Expo and said that this event is all about learning how to have a more sustainable environment and how to make a difference in the local community.

"It's for the kids to learn about something that is going on that they didn't know existed previously in the Port Washington area," Germain said. "This expo shows everyone how to have a better quality of life by taking care of our planet."

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The Daly Elementary School gym was set up like a science fair with booths from organizations throughout the area.

The Schreiber High School Tree Huggers Club taught students from schools within the district and their parents how to create environmentally friendly plastic without the toxic effects at the expo. Those visiting this booth mixed cornstarch, a few drops of oil and water and then put it into a microwave for 30 seconds. And voilà, out came a cup full of hardened alternative plastic.

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A Manorhaven Elementary student named Jacob said he loved the idea of making his own piece of plastic. "This is a lot of fun and I know it is safe for the environment," the 9-year-old said. "I like everything here, including the rocks and the sand mixing with water on the other side of the room."

Some other groups with booths included Grassroots Environmental Education, which runs the Port Washington Organic Farmers Market, Daly Playground Committee, the Port Washington Parks Conservancy, the Sands Point Preserve and the U.S. Geological Survey.

Daly third-grade students Phillip DePalma and Brendan Vella walked around the expo stopping at many of these booths, as well as the North Shore Audubon Society's table to ask about birds and nests and the Port Washington School District's safe cleaning products display, wondering what green products are and what their purpose is.

"Green cleaning means natural, bio-based cleaning alternatives, instead of conventional, toxic and synthetic petrochemical cleaners, usually found in local supermarkets," said James Ristano, director of facilities and operations in the Port Washington Union Free School District. "Children and pets are at greater risk from suffering from allergies and asthma due to these chemical cleaners, so these green alternatives are better for the environment and better for people."

In addition to all the interesting displays was an added tidbit — a documentary film "A Call to Action" created by Laila Iravani, a Schreiber High School student. The 12-minute film called attention to the potential threats to Port Washington's drinking water.

"We have to be aware of the amount of water that will be available in the future and contamination issues," Iravani said. "I made the film to make people aware of this important environmental issue."

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