{"id":4872,"date":"2020-10-09T00:49:08","date_gmt":"2020-10-09T04:49:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/shorebeat.com\/tomsriver\/?p=4872"},"modified":"2020-10-09T04:02:41","modified_gmt":"2020-10-09T08:02:41","slug":"toms-river-public-works-wins-prestigious-award-for-this-cool-youth-recycling-program","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/shorebeat.com\/tomsriver\/2020\/10\/toms-river-public-works-wins-prestigious-award-for-this-cool-youth-recycling-program\/","title":{"rendered":"Toms River Public Works Wins Prestigious Award For This Cool Youth Recycling Program"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Kids<\/a>

Kids visit with Rocky the Recycling Robot in Toms River. (Photo: Toms River Public Works)<\/p><\/div>\n

The Toms River Department of Public Works has been chosen to receive a 2020 New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection Award for Outstanding Educator\/Educational Program, it was announced this week, for an outstanding puppet show that introduces kids to conservation.<\/p>\n

Toms River Educational Specialist John Clark has developed a Clean Communities program focusing on non-point source pollution and recycling. In the program, \u201cTom the Duck\u201d and \u201cRocky, The Recycling Robot\u201d perform educational skits at Toms River elementary schools.<\/p>\n

\"Kids<\/a>

Kids visit with Tom the Duck in Toms River. (Photo: Toms River Public Works)<\/p><\/div>\n

\"Kids<\/a>

Kids visit with Rocky the Recycling Robot in Toms River. (Photo: Toms River Public Works)<\/p><\/div>\n

The \u201cTom the Duck\u201d read-along puppet show program was created to educate Toms River\u2019s children at an early age about the importance of avoiding littering and practicing recycling every day. During the program, kids learn that there is trash floating in the river, which is the home of \u201cTom the Duck.\u201d\u00a0 They learn about where the pollution is coming from, how trash can make its way to the ocean and river from their front yard and how it can harm our marine life.\u00a0 The children all receive back packs, crayons and the informational coloring book for the read-along show. The show runs about 30 to 40 minutes long, and reaches over 1,000 students a year.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur goal is to introduce the students at an early age to the harm littering has on our ecosystem and wildlife, and the positive effects of recycling,\u201d said Clark.<\/p>\n

The Department of Public Works also takes their lessons outside the classroom with \u201cRocky, the Recycling Robot.\u201d Rocky\u2019s main focus, officials say, is recycling and reducing litter.\u00a0 Rocky appears at events, field days and conducts boardwalk visits.\u00a0 Rocky reaches roughly 5,000 children and adults each year.<\/p>\n

Toms River officials, through the program, found a new way to teach the basics that many remember from their childhood.<\/p>\n

\u201cFortunately, the three \u2018R\u2019s \u2013 Reduce, Reuse, Recycle \u2013 are relatively simple to introduce,\u201d said Acting Public Works Director Anthony Benyola. \u201cLearning the importance of being sustainable shows children that the environment is important, and can only help them become environmentally responsible adults.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Kids<\/a>

Kids visit with Tom the Duck in Toms River. (Photo: Toms River Public Works)<\/p><\/div>\n

\"Kids<\/a>

Kids visit with Tom the Duck in Toms River. (Photo: Toms River Public Works)<\/p><\/div>\n

The criteria for the NJDEP\u2019s Outstanding Educator\/Educational Program includes: \u201cAny teacher, administrator, community or student group, environmental educator or individual student whose actions have resulted in increased participation in recycling.\u201d<\/p>\n

This year\u2019s recycling awards ceremony will take place virtually during an Association of New Jersey Recyclers webinar on Nov. 19, 2020.<\/p>\n

<\/div><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Toms River Department of Public Works has been chosen to receive a 2020 New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection Award for Outstanding Educator\/Educational Program, it was announced this week, for an outstanding puppet show that introduces kids to conservation. Toms River Educational Specialist John Clark has developed a Clean Communities program focusing on non-point […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":4873,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[150,9,3],"tags":[1105,1106,1104,11,1103],"class_list":["post-4872","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-environment-weather","category-featured","category-government","tag-new-jersey-department-of-environmental-protection","tag-njdep","tag-recycling","tag-toms-river-nj-news","tag-toms-river-public-works"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/shorebeat.com\/tomsriver\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/Rocky-the-Robot-1.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/shorebeat.com\/tomsriver\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4872","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/shorebeat.com\/tomsriver\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/shorebeat.com\/tomsriver\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/shorebeat.com\/tomsriver\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/shorebeat.com\/tomsriver\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4872"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/shorebeat.com\/tomsriver\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4872\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/shorebeat.com\/tomsriver\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/4873"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/shorebeat.com\/tomsriver\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4872"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/shorebeat.com\/tomsriver\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4872"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/shorebeat.com\/tomsriver\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4872"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}