2011 PROGRAM GUIDE TREES INTO CARTONS, CARTONS INTO TREES TICCIT Educational Goals Jennie Markens of PPC rom the presentation, helps a fifth-grade students should walk student at Brightwood Faway with an under - Elementary School to standing of the: plant a sapling in a n Benefits of trees to the used milk carton. earth’s lifecycle n Benefits of paper- based packaging over plastic and other less TICCIT Overview sustainable forms of packaging ICCIT (pronounced “ticket,” which paper is made, and why trees are important n How paper is made stands for “Trees into Cartons, Cartons to the earth’s lifecycle. n How a milk carton is into Trees”) is an outreach and educa - Each company also donates either tree made from paper T n How a milk carton will tional program for fourth through sixth seeds or native saplings to each child to plant biodegrade over time graders that is held at the end of each April in a milk carton they have saved from lunch in honor of Earth Day. (or brought from home). The new “carton- The 45-minute program is designed to and-tree units” are then planted in the highlight the natural renewability and sus - ground. The cartons provide protection and tainability of paperboard packaging. As part a natural water funnel for the new trees. of TICCIT, PPC members partner with local As the trees grow, the cartons biodegrade, elementary schools to make a presentation to completing the “trees into cartons, cartons students about the benefits of recycling, how into trees” cycle. 2010 TICCIT Participants n 2010, eleven PPC members participated in TICCIT. The final tally of 5,200 saplings distributed by PPC members Ito elementary schoolchildren shows a 57% increase in par - ticipation over 2009’s 3,000 saplings. Participating members include: n Bell Incorporated n CardPak, Inc. n Clearwater Paper n Graphic Packaging International n MeadWestvaco n PPC n Sonderen Packaging n Southern Champion Tray n The Standard Group n Thoro Packaging n Unipak Inc. 1 2011 TICCIT Program Guide TICCIT 2010: 5,200 Trees Distributed! Bell, Inc. instructed the students on how to create their own carton, then asked them to decorate each with illustrations on what Earth Day means to them. CardPak, Inc. made t-shirts for each stu - dent, with the TICCIT logo on the front and their company logo on the back. They printed the image on eco- friendly cotton. Sonderen Packaging held their event PPC created an interactive display for students that outside so that the students could be graphically demonstrates how paper is made, which as messy as they wanted when filling types of trees are used in making paper, and how their used milk cartons with soil. trees work into the earth’s lifecycle. www.ppcnet.org /TICCIT 2 How to Order Saplings he Arbor Day Foundation now pro - vides trees to all PPC members for T$1 each (includes shipping). These trees can then be distributed to employ - ees, students, or teachers during TICCIT week. To place your order, visit www.arbor - day.org/partnerships/ppc2011/ . A min - imum order of 50 trees ($50) is required; order deadlines will be emailed to you when they have been scheduled and will be mentioned in the weekly PPC e-newsletter. ADF provides you with the option of selecting native trees suitable for growing in your part of the country. 2011 TICCIT Timeline January–February your local media and follow up with a phone Call your local elementary school administra - call. Often a local newspaper will see this as a tor and describe to him/her the basics of the photo opportunity to showcase local school - TICCIT program and set a date for sometime children participating in something positive during the week of April 18-22, 2011 for your for both the environment and the local com - Presentation presentation. You can suggest speaking to just munity. This is also a great way to showcase Materials List one classroom of students or multiple your company’s commitment to your com - classes/entire grade, either outside in the munity and its young people. ake sure to check playground, in a classroom, or in an in-school Email or mail photo releases (see sample on with the teacher assembly area. Also determine who will lead pg. 14) to the school. Ask teachers to distrbute Mand/or school ad - the discussion—you or the teacher? them to students, have parents sign them, ministration a week or two Finally, make sure to get an accurate count then have students bring in the signed form before your TICCIT presen - of how many students will be participating prior to the presentation date. This will en - tation to see what items they might be able to sup - so you know how many saplings to order. able photos taken at your activity to be ply on the day of the used in ongoing TICCIT promotions. event. Whatever they are March unable to provide, make Order saplings from the Arbor Day Founda - Mid-April sure to bring with you. In tion (see above) or contact a local nursery to Compile all the necessary materials for the addition to supplying a sapling or seeds for each see if they might donate saplings for the pres - presentation (see sidebar). student, you may also entation. You can also choose to order some wish to bring: tree seeds and have the students plant seeds TICCIT Week n Extra milk cartons in the milk carton instead. Make your TICCIT presentation and have n Camera fun! n Water/watering can Beginning of April n Potting soil n Trowels Remind your elementary school contact to End of April n Scissors have students save their milk cartons either Submit a post-event press release to the local n Forks from the school cafeteria or bring one in from media. Since newspapers are notoriously n Art supplies home, making sure to carefully wash them shortstaffed and overworked, you may also n Posters/handouts out first. Or you may prefer to supply the stu - wish to submit photos taken at the event and n Newspapers for covering desks dents with a generic paperboard box manu - even an article to local newspapers, letting n Other materials spe - factured at your facility. Another option is to them know that they have permission to cific to your presenta - bring paperboard supplies to the presentation publish your piece as is or in an edited form. tion needs, such as a and then instruct students how to create their Also make sure to submit the best photos papermaking kit, pa - own box in which they can plant the sapling. taken at the event to the Director of Market - perboard samples, etc. Mail out a press release (see sample of pg. ing and Communications at PPC, for posting 13) on the upcoming TICCIT presentation to on the PPC website. 3 2011 TICCIT Program Guide Classroom Questions elow are questions you can ask students trees, or “saplings” are planted to take their as a way to engage them in conversa - place, and are carefully grown to be har - Btion. You may wish to begin by show - vested again a few years later when they ing students examples of the type of boxes reach the right size and age. that your company makes and describing This is also called “sustainable forestry.” how they are made from paper and how (“Sustainable” means “not wasting” or “not paper is made from trees. Then ask the fol - taking more than you use.”). Oil (from which lowing questions: gasoline and plastic is made) and coal are EARTH DAY: NOT renewable; when they are taken from Every April 22 Why are trees important? the ground and used, they cannot be re - n A tree breathes in the carbon dioxide we placed! exhale and breathes out oxygen, which is arth Day was founded to inspire very important to us as we cannot live How is paper made? Eawareness and ap - without oxygen. When a tree is harvested, the limbs and the preciation for the Earth's n Trees give birds, squirrels, insects, and bark are first taken off and burned for fuel or environment by U.S. Sen - other creatures homes. used to make garden mulch. The wood that is ator Gaylord Nelson as an n Trees hold the soil in place and keep it left over is then cut into small pieces about environmental teach-in in 1970. While this first from washing away (erosion). the size of a quarter. Earth Day was focused on n The leaves trees drop enrich the soil as These wood chips are composed of half the United States, in 1990 they biodegrade. water. So the water is next cooked off, leaving an organization launched n A tree’s roots and leaves clean pollutants half fiber, half “lignin,” the glue that holds by Denis Hayes took it in - from the air and soil. the wood fibers together. The pulping process ternational. Earth Day is now celebrated globally by n They are a source of food (berries, fruit, finally removes the lignin, leaving just the the Earth Day Network by nuts). fiber, which is what is used to make paper. more than 175 countries n Forests attract outdoor recreation activities. every year. n Trees cut heating and cooling costs when Will we ever run out of trees? planted around the home (up to 20%). Not as long as we continue to use wood products, such as paper and paper packaging What kind of things (like what your cereal box is made of). But if are made of wood? we quit using trees, those who own the tree n Lumber for making houses, furniture, farms will be forced to find another way to pencils, baseball bats, etc.