Third-Grade Sustainability—Rowland Hall Third Graders Bring Reusable Materials Back to the Dining Hall

Change may be slow, but it’s worth the wait.

This truth was made clear this year to Jodi Spiro’s third graders, a group passionate about doing their part to save the earth, particularly when it comes to limiting garbage in the environment.

“We knew there was a problem, then we watched this video of how much trash ends up in rivers and oceans, and we thought it was really sad,” said class member Helena A. “We saw this island made out of trash—it’s bigger than Texas.”

“It feels like people don’t really care about what they’re throwing out,” added classmate Declan M.

And it really bothered the third graders to imagine Rowland Hall contributing to the problem—especially in one way: though the dining hall had returned to a traditional serving line this year, it hadn’t shifted back to metal cutlery. The students knew plastic utensils had to be creating a lot of waste, so in October they visited the dining hall to get an idea of just how much. They began by counting the number of utensils that fit into the cutlery dispenser, determined how many times the dispenser was filled, and were shocked to learn the McCarthey Campus was tossing around 900 plastic forks, knives, and spoons weekly.

“We realized how much we were throwing away, and we wanted to know why, and we wanted to change it,” said Declan.

And though the students were anxious to make changes right away, Jodi knew they would need the support of campus partners, including SAGE Dining Services, which was likely using plastic cutlery for a reason. Jodi saw the moment as an opportunity for her class to understand the reasoning behind that decision and learn how to respectfully present their request to reverse it. “The way you go about something is the way you’ll get lasting change,” she told students. “You’re going to get better buy-in if you’re respectful.”

The class began by writing letters to explain their concerns and propose their solution, which they sent to Julia Simonsen, food service director, in November. They received a prompt response explaining there was indeed a reason behind the use of plastic cutlery: students had been throwing away metal cutlery, as well as reusable cups and even lunch trays. This was its own problem—the dining hall simply couldn’t afford to keep replacing those items. The third graders realized that in order to address their cutlery concerns, they would first have to tackle another waste issue. So they made Julia an offer: they would teach lower schoolers how to properly use lunchroom materials if SAGE agreed to bring them back. Julia agreed.

End goal in mind, the third graders planned how to educate students on the proper use of cafeteria materials and limiting waste. Knowing they would have to talk to every Lower School class, they divided into teams, each choosing the grades they wanted to present to and the approach they thought best for that group. They also created a TikTok video demonstrating the new skills, which they played for every class. “We wanted to make sure everyone understood the problem,” explained Helena. “We showed them what’s been happening and what they can do.”

The presentations made an impact: first through fifth graders expressed a desire to help fix the dining hall’s dual waste problems through their daily actions. “I didn’t really know that I could actually convince people this well of what's been happening in the cafeteria,” said Declan. “It felt really good.”

Fellow third graders in Matthew Collins’ and Katie Schwab’s classes even created posters to remind students to pay attention when disposing of items on lunch trays.

From her perspective, Jodi was thrilled to see not only how other classes responded to her students’ hard work, but also how the experience built their confidence. Her class loved being seen as subject experts, she said, and answering questions; after each presentation, they returned to the classroom beaming and asking to talk to more people. “I think it brought out parts of themselves that they probably didn’t even expect,” she said.

It also showed them that hard work on a cause you believe in is worth it. When the reusable cutlery returned to the dining hall after April break, the moment was more than the culmination of a nearly school-year-long goal; it was a strong reminder of how young learners can address problems that seem insurmountable—such as waste in the environment—and truly make a difference.

“It’s so easy to get overwhelmed with the bigness of it,” said Jodi, “but the students learned you can start with something small and in your control. They learned change is slow but possible, and to be persistent. Just because you want something to change doesn’t mean it’s going to follow your timeline.”

They also learned that good choices add up and that, often, being the change you wish to see in the world starts by simply doing something.

“Don’t be a problem starter,” summarized Jodi. “Be a problem solver.”