[ADEQ Media] ADEQ Director Owens Announces that Nearly 1, 700 Arizona Students Have Taken the Pledge to Protect the State's Natural Resources

[media@lists.azdeq.gov]

ADEQ Director Owens Announces that Nearly 1,700 Arizona Students Have
Taken the Pledge to Protect the State's Natural Resources 

PHOENIX (May 7, 2008) - Arizona Department of Environmental Quality
Director Steve Owens announced today that nearly 1,700 elementary and
junior high school students throughout Arizona signed ADEQ's "Earth Day
Pledge" last month to "recycle, conserve energy and save water to
protect Arizona's resources."   ADEQ sponsored the pledge as part of the
department's Earth Month activities.

The schools with the most students signing the pledge included:

*	Territorial Elementary School of Chino Valley in Yavapai County
(528 students, which is 95 percent of the school's total enrollment);
*	West Park Elementary of Buckeye in Maricopa County (336
students);
*	Snowflake Intermediate School of Snowflake in Navajo County (335
students);
*	Arts Academy at Estrella Mountain of Tolleson in Maricopa County
(175 students);
*	Chester Newton Montessori School of Camp Verde in Yavapai County
(104 students); And, 
*	Blue Ridge Elementary School in Pinetop-Lakeside in Navajo
County (22 students from a third-grade class).

Also, more than 100 students from Gateway Elementary and the Creighton
School, both in Phoenix, signed the pledge at the Arizona National Guard
Earth Day event April 23 at the Papago Military Reservation.  Fifty-one
(51) students from various schools in Tucson also signed the pledge.

"As we expected, the Earth Day pledge proved to be a great way for
students to get involved during all the activities of Earth Month and
for teachers to generate discussion of environmental issues," Director
Owens said. "This was the first time we asked students to sign a pledge
like this, and we are delighted with the response.  We look forward to
continuing to work with school districts across Arizona to help them
find more ways to interest students in the environment in the future." 

The Pledge asks children to recycle, turn off the water while brushing
their teeth, turn off the lights when leaving a room and donate old
usable toys and books instead of throwing them away. Also, riding a bike
or walking when children can, to never litter and  dispose of trash
properly, and to turn off the TV and electronic games when they are not
in use. 
The Pledge is on the ADEQ website at
www.azdeq.gov/function/education/index.html 

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News media interested in additional information on this or any other
topic concerning the Arizona Department of Environmental Quality should
contact the Office of Communications at (602) 771-2215 or via email at
communications@azdeq.gov.

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