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Mother Earth shares her recycling message
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Neighbors | Sarah Foor .Guests to Poland's Aug. 11 "Mother Earth" story time paused to pose with Mother Earth herself, showing off their bottle-cap magnet crafts. The guests were, from left, Sofie Lanzo, Jimmy Lanzo, Peg Flynn, Aden Mehle, Timmy Case, and Indonesia Case.
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Neighbors | Sarah Foor .Story time guest Sofie Lanzo (left) focused as she decorated a repurposed paper and bottle-cap magnet craft that she eventually stuck on her refrigerator at home in Lowelville.
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Neighbors | Sarah Foor .During Flynn's visit to the Poland library, she read the book "Dear Children of the Earth" by Schim Schimmel to her story time guests.
By SARAH FOOR
When Green Team environmental educator Peg Flynn pulled on her green and blue earth poncho at the Poland library on Aug. 11, she fully transformed into a new character.
“Usually, I’m Peg from the Green Team, but today, I represent Mother Earth,” Flynn explained to a small group at the Poland facility.
In her new role, Flynn shared the story “Dear Children of the Earth” by Schim Schimmel with her guests. The book served as a reminder of the responsibility that humans have to take care of the environment.
“All humans are my children and all animals on the earth are your sisters and brothers. Take care of each other,” Schimmel’s book pleads.
Flynn took extra care to explain how different small acts can be either hurtful or beneficial to the earth.
“When people do a lot of little littering, eventually it can become a great amount of pollution. But it goes the other way, too — if everyone does a little bit of recycling, it can transform into a lot of good for the environment,” Flynn explained.
After her story, Mother Earth asked her guests to make Earth Day every day by recycling at home and signing up for curbside recyclable pickups.
To thank her guests for hearing her message, Flynn provided free recycled paper coloring books and sun magnets made from repurposed paper and bottle caps.
“In a unique way, our story time fits in with the library’s ‘One World, Many Stories’ theme for their summer reading program. We all have the same home and we need to protect it,” Flynn said.