Local High School Focuses on the Three R's

At Cajon High School, the students in Gregory Berenato’s science class spent some time focusing on the three R’s: reduce, reuse, and recycle. The class used common household items like used water bottles, wire coat hangers, drinking straws, and used coffee filters to construct toy racecars. The racers were held together with glue made from pine tree sap and campfire ash. Instead of gasoline, a mixture of vinegar and baking soda fueled the racers. Berenato created the class project to educate his students about the importance of reusing and recycling items, but also to reinforce the concepts of creativity and scientific inquiry. “It’s important that students think about the environment, and it is equally important that they think of new and creative ways to use the resources and materials we have in this world,” Berenato said. Berenato’s students really got into the creative aspects of the project, even thinking up a few slogans for their racers. Some of the most popular were, “If it isn’t ash, then it isn’t trash,” and “Why waste the resources given to us when you can have fun with them?”