Denali Zero-Landfill Ambassadors in the News!
VIDEO: “Alaska Teens Tackle Tourism Trash” CBS News. Oct 2017
VIDEO: “Roadtrippin’: Denali Program Aims to Reduce Waste with Help of Local Youth“ KTUU-TV. May 2017
ARTICLE: “Denali Teens Look for Solution to Borough Waste Problem” Fairbanks Daily News Miner. September 2016
ARTICLE: “Art Emerges from Waste Reduction Efforts in Healy” Fairbanks Daily News-Miner. October 2017
Students in the Denali-area are embracing the Zero-Landfill Project and helping make positive changes in our schools and communities. Leading by example, Denali Zero-Landfill Ambassadors are creating recycling and composting programs, talking with locals businesses, and inspiring students from around the country to learn how to make a difference in their schools and homes, too.
We want visitors to Denali National Park to know about the Zero-Landfill Project and why it’s important to our communities.
“Zero-Landfill is important to the community because we are the ones that live in the area 24/7. If there is trash left by tourists, the landfills will get too full and we’ll have to dig more just for the year-round residents.” – Allison P.
“One thing I would ask people to do to help reduce waste while visiting Denali is to understand that we have limited recycling and how hard it is to take it away. So they should help by sorting into the right bins and have respect for recycling, for the park, and for this community.” – Ayla W.
“The Zero Landfill initiative at Tri-Valley School in Healy, Alaska is led by mainly by middle and high school students, and we are starting an elementary group. If something is going to last you need support from younger generations. We have a strong environmental focus and want to see this land, our backyard, preserved which includes particularly keeping it natural and limiting trash in our landfill and at the same time teaching people how they can do this here and in their own lives.” – Ben B.
“We want tourists in Denali to know that we are developing ways to recycle more waste in the park. They should know that to help us that they should not throw away recyclables and they should buy as few non-recyclable items as possible… Zero-Landfill is important to me because it is a way to help the community in the long term by educating people and creating ways to keep waste from the landfills.” – Emma T.
“The reason why being a Zero-Landfill Ambassador is important to me is because it is a way to help improve my community, outside of school and in school. You also get to educate other people about things that they could do to help reduce the amount of waste we are producing… One thing I want people to understand about our home is how special it is to people who live here, how much we cherish it, and how we respect the land. Most people who live here spend most of their time outside enjoying it.” – Ayla W.
