Our youth reuse programming at Edison High School and Longfellow Alternative High School is well underway! Over the past month, students at these schools have been exposed to various aspects of reuse. The program began with an introductory session that educated students on the history and benefits of reuse, followed by a series of guest speakers and interactive activities to further engage the students in the topic.

Our speakers, all Reuse Minnesota members, introduced students to possible careers in reuse and repair and complemented their presentations with hands-on activities.

ArtStart artist Brooke Steigauf shared her love of creative reuse with students, inviting them to decorate donated vinyl records. Students used different materials to personalize and express their creativity. Jason Allen and Alex Baldwin from Better Futures talked about deconstruction. Students practiced removing nails and had the opportunity to use a reciprocating saw! Amanda Jacobsen from Free Geek engaged students by bringing in gaming controllers and teaching students how to disassemble them for recycling. Students learned about textile waste and its impact on the environment from Margaret Newman known as Fabrik Marge. They got to learn basic mending skills and make mending kits!

Reuse Minnesota will be working with students at Roosevelt High School starting this week. Additional guest speakers invited to present include Minneapolis Toy Library and Cake Plus owner, Cat Polivoda. Edison, Longfellow, and Roosevelt High Schools have planned field trips to Minnesota Tool Library, Free Geek, and Better Futures, respectively.

We thank the Hennepin County Green Partners environmental education grant program for allowing us to continue building the youth reuse program we started in 2022. The application window for the 2024 round of Green Partners grants is open now. Visit https://www.hennepin.us/greenpartners to learn more and apply.