Las Colinas Middle School students visit recycling plant in Oxnard

NATURAL FUN- Students from the special education class at Las Colinas Middle School recently visited Agromin's green materials recycling facility in Oxnard to learn about the recycling process.

Students from the special education class at Camarillo's Las Colinas Middle School recently visited Agromin's green materials recycling facility in Oxnard to learn about the recycling process.

The field trip, for students in sixth through eighth grade, was also designed to help them understand how to create their own composting pile at school.

"The kids knew about the importance of recycling glass, plastics and paper but didn't realize that green materials needed to be recycled, too," said teacher Linda Wittington. "They thought the green materials collected at curbside each week were just dumped into the landfill.

"They were shocked to see the amount of garbage that had to be picked out of the green materials because people aren't careful where they put their trash," she said. "The students were impressed that the bacteria that can hurt plants are 'cooked out' during the composting process. They also liked the coffee grounds mulch pile. They never thought about where these grounds go after people make coffee."

The mulch created from the students' compost pile at Las Colinas will be used in the school's community garden. "They told the groundskeeper to make sure to put grass clippings in the pile and to post a sign so students wouldn't toss leftover food in the pile," said Wittington. "They came away from the field trip with a greater understanding of the importance of green recycling."