FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: April 2, 2012
DEP PARTNERS WITH WHISPERING OAK ELEMENTARY ON EARTH DAY RECYCLING PROGRAM
~Kindergarten through fifth grade students participate in school-wide recycling~
 Mrs. Tanski's 5th grade class at Whispering Oak Elementary School recycled the most paper goods in March as part of a DEP parternship program to celebrate Earth Day.
WINTER GARDEN– The Florida Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) today celebrated the accomplishments of the students and teachers of Whispering Oak Elementary School for their commiment to recycling. The school held a recycling competition in honor of Earth Day, which is April 22.
“I’m excited that Whispering Oak Elementary School is committed to teaching our children the value of environmental stewardship,” said DEP Central District Director Jeff Prather. “Recycling is an easy way to protect Florida’s natural resources and ensure the environment is cleaner and healthier in the future.”
Throughout the month of March, the school challenged students to collect telephone books, magazines, newspapers and other paper products, and bring them to school to be recycled. The students kept track of the amount of paper they collected by stacking the paper goods and measuring the stacks. Together, the more than 1,400 students brought in enough paper that, if stacked, would reach the height of 133 feet, or a 13-story building.
The individual class that recycled the most was Ms. Tanski's fifth grade class, where students collected 559 inches of paper products, which would stack to more than 46 feet tall -- the height of a four-story building.
Whispering Oak Recycling Coordinator Kimberli White, along with other teachers, the community and students, have made a strong commitment to recycling. The young school, which opened for the 2005/2006 school year, received national recognition in 2011 for recycling nearly 10 tons of paper in March alone. In 2010, students collected nearly 29 tons of recycled materials throughout the year.
DEP's Central District honored kingergarten through fifth grade students with Florida State Parks passes and certificates for the classes in each grade that recycled the most. | 
