Screams filled the campus of Ulla Muller Elementary School late Tuesday morning, not because of fear, but because of the excitement shared by students in seeing Chipper, the Virgin Islands Waste Management Authority’s litter critter, just before they put the finishing “touches” on the new mural at their school!
Recently, the Virgin Islands Waste Management Authority painted murals on some of the walls at the Ulla Muller School in an effort to promote environmental stewardship. The project is a part of their Preserving Paradise Campaign.
“The teachers reached out to me and were ecstatic about beautifying the school,” said Shena Ritter, the environmental coordinator at Waste Management. “All the schools are buzzing about our Gomez project,” she added, which is one of the reasons Uller Muller School Principal Thelca Bedminster said she advocated for her school to get a painting.
“I was trying to get a mural for the opening day of school. When I got to Gomez I was so jealous, because I want one just like the children,” said Bedminster.
In addition to Gomez, over the summer, the Waste Management Authority completed a mural at the Boys and Girls Club in Oswald Harris Court.
Ritter said the message behind the mural encourages students to keep their school-based safe and clean, with the hope that the practices they learn in school will extend into the community.
“With these types of murals, it’s pretty, it’s big, it’s elaborate. But we made an ecosystem. It can be a lesson,” said Ritter. “It’s not just a painting, it’s an interactive piece as well.”
Alice Krall, the Waste Management Authority’s beautification coordinator, conceptualized the mural.
“We’re always choosing local flowers. We have a theme in each one,” said Krall. “I always put in Ginger Thomas. We wanted something bright that catches people’s eyes.”
Krall added that she likes to use bright colors to prevent people from throwing garbage on the ground.
The V.I. Waste Management also partnered with the V.I. Water and Power Authority to make the mural come to life.
Aariyah Athanase, communication specialist at WAPA, said the Ulla Muller School is their “adopted school.” She lent a hand in completing the painting.
For the project, Bedminster told Ritter, “Whatever you bring to the children, allow them to be engaged.”
To do this, they allowed the students to hand-paint the remaining portions of the mural. Each child personalized the wall by creating a flower and adding a thumbprint. When Krall and her team completed the murals, they did not put petals on the stems of the flowers.
Third, fourth, and fifth-grade students attended the presentation to officially introduce the murals. Ritter started the presentation by informing the children about VIWMA and what wastewater is.
“Do you love the mural?” she asked. The students resounded with a strong “yes!”
Butterflies, flowers, birds, the school’s and Waste Management’s mottos were hand-painted into the murals.
“How to keep the campus clean,” asked Ritter. By “not littering,” replied the students.
“You will keep the campus clean. Your principal is going to keep us updated. If the campus is clean, you’re going to get more,” Ritter responded as she encouraged the students to maintain good sanitary practices.
Athanase spoke to the students and asked if they knew what WAPA does. Most students shared responses related to the interrupted power outages associated with the power plant, but Athanase informed the students that WAPA does more than provide electricity.
“WAPA provides not only electricity, but also water,” shared Athanase. “WAPA provides majority of their water from ocean water,” she added, and asked, “How can you conserve water?”
“Put it in a water bottle,” and “turn it on, wet your toothbrush, and brush your teeth,” were shouted by students.
Before getting to the interactive portion, Krall also told the students to “do the right thing, keep your campus clean, keep your community clean. This is critical for keeping our beautiful islands as nice as they are.” Afterward, Ritter introduced the Waste Management mascot, Chipper!
Chipper danced into the school’s courtyard to get the students excited about focusing on their environmental goals. The children were super thrilled and swarmed Chipper the Litter Critter, looking for high-fives and hugs. After the interaction, students lined up by classes to literally add their imprints to the mural. The students were given the opportunity to use their thumbs and create flowers. Colors such as red, blue, yellow, purple, and white were used.
Of the interaction, Bedminster said she is “excited about it. I believe it’s a cause we need to reverse. It’s a practice over time that we have not been teaching our children,” she said of the ill-treatment of the environment. “We have to do a better job of the product we place our children in.”
Bedminster added that she is also looking forward to more projects like this in the future.
“One of the things I also asked Waste Management was to get started on our gardening,” she said. “Teaching them about connecting, coming outside,” Bedminster added, hoping to get her students into the practice. “I don’t think they realize the value.”
Ritter highlighted that she hopes the project will change the mindsets and perspectives of the students and make school more fun.
For more information on the Waste Management Authority’s Preserving Paradise, contact them at 340-715-9100.
St. Croix Source
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