By Mark Abromaitis
THE ERICKSON TRIBUNE

Residents at Fox Run, an Erickson community in Novi, Mich., know the environmental importance of recycling. Each week a dedicated group of community members donate their newspapers to the local recycling center.

And now several of these ardent recyclers have taken steps to share their passion and help educate the youngest generation about the value of recycling.

Spear-headed by Marianne Mikkelsen, Fox Run’s philanthropy coordinator, this group has taken their cause to a local elementary school.

“Our group of recyclers here feel very strongly about their efforts,” Mikkelsen says. “They know that every little bit helps so the idea was why not try and inspire others to get on board?”

Starting young
Mikkelsen and resident Gertrude Pinkney made an initial trip to visit the first graders at Lone Pine Elementary School in the neighboring community of Bloomfield Hills.

Their visit was prompted by Jean Ramseyer, a coordinator for Lone Pine Elementary School and the daughter of Fox Run resident Isabel Ross.

“We try to educate the children on environmental concerns, even as first graders,” Ramseyer says. “So we thought this would be a great thing to do to make them aware of what recycling is and to inspire them to take part.”

Little bits add up
“The children were so eager to learn and had plenty of questions to ask,” Pinkney says. “It’s a great civic-minded project.” After Mikkelsen’s and Pinkney’s initial visit, the first graders were inspired to collect papers to help Fox Run with their weekly efforts.

After several weeks of collections, the school children invited the Fox Run residents back to pick up the donated materials. “They decorated their collection bags so well and many of the bags were even bigger than the students themselves,” Pinkney says.