Messy lessons

Kids get their hands dirty learning to treat the environment with care

Making a mess is fun -- ask any kid.

So it was a lot of fun they were having at a recent gathering of the Keiki Explorer Club -- under the guise of learning about recycling and the environment.

Keiki Explorer Club Flutterby Butterflies: Explore the life cycle and diet of butterflies and how they help plants. Each child receives a caterpillar and food to take home. For ages: 4 and up, accompanied by an adult Class time: 10 a.m. to noon or 1:30 to 3 p.m. Saturday Place: The Green House, 224 Pakohana St., Pauoa Valley Cost: $5 per parent/child Call: Betty Gearen, 524-8427; e-mail thehawaiigreenhouse@ verizon.net Adult class: A Photovoltaic Basic Workshop will be held from 10 a.m. to noon Saturday. Cost is $25, $20 for seniors. How to make papier-mâché The pulp mixture can be used to make smooth, fine details in papier-mâché projects or to create small sculptures: Materials needed: Newspaper, water, glue, salt Instructions: » Tear newspaper into tiny pieces and put in a large bowl. Add just enough warm-to-hot water to cover newspaper. Let soak overnight. » Mix and squeeze the mixture until it looks like oatmeal. Get lumps out; if necessary, add more water and let soak longer. » When mixture is as smooth as possible, add a few tablespoons of salt to retard mold. Mix again with hands. Squeeze out excess water and add a few tablespoons of glue. Quick method: Boil newspaper in water until it falls apart. Or, let the paper and water mixture sit a few hours, then put it in a blender or food processor. Add glue and salt. To store: Pulp can be kept in an airtight plastic bag or container in the refrigerator. Molds: An array of recycled items, from cardboard to plastic bags and screen, can serve as molds for papier-mâché sculptures.

Betty Gearen teaches these concepts to children weekly, sometimes through very messy activities. It is no wonder that she captures their interest.

Gearen turned a club meeting last month into a paper-making and sculpting class, complete with mushy paper floating in water that fascinated a small group of children. Tissue paper, newspaper and light cardboard disintegrated as the children swished them around with their hands.

"This feels creepy," said 8-year-old Grace Schnetzler.

Others seemed more interested playing in the sticky glue mixture that would be used in sculpture projects.

The youngsters learned to turn used paper into pulp to make new sheets of paper or to enhance papier-mâché projects. The kids helped mix the paper, put it in the blender and added salt to create pulp. Colored paper was added to alter colors.

"They learn to reuse paper so it doesn't go into the landfill," Gearen said. "Paper is in overabundance."

Gearen runs the Green House, where she holds a variety of workshops on sustainable living for both adults and children. The keiki classes were started when Gearen saw a void in the educational system.

"I have two grandchildren going to public school and was disappointed that they were not learning much about the environment -- nothing about recycling."

The classes began as a pilot project with some neighborhood kids, growing from once a month to weekly.

"I wanted to create a place where children and parents could learn together," she said.

Learning to care for the land offers many benefits, Gearen said.

"I learned about litter as a child, and it is a lesson I've never forgotten. If our keiki learn these lessons, they will incorporate that knowledge into the way they live their lives.

"Besides, it is creative and fun to find ways to reuse trash. It takes imagination, and that is good for your brain and the aina."

Two neighborhood girls have attended all of Gearen's classes. Among 7-year-old Julia Schnetzler's favorites were candle-making and stamp-making.

"We made our own stamps using a mouse pad," she said. "We cut out shapes and glued them to bottle caps."

Her sister Grace enjoyed making new candles out of old ones and creating crayons. "We got to melt old, dirty crayons and make them into cookie shapes," she said. "You can write with them."

The girls made gifts for their cousins at Christmas, said their mother, Joanne Williamson. "I really appreciate the family time."

Eleven-year-old Janine Murray attended class to meet one of her Girl Scout troop requirements. She had to conduct a meeting for the troop, so was learning about paper recycling and papier-mâché and planned to share the information.

Her mother, Margie, seemed to be having just as much fun as the two worked on a papier-mâché turtle.

"There are so many things we have at home that we can recycle. Now we can find a new life for them," Margie said. "We recycle as much as we can, but things still get thrown away."

Bev Bertino had her own reasons for attending. "My grandsons love to do artwork," she said as the two boys -- Connor, 9, and Emerson, 5 -- worked on a dragon.

"It teaches them how to work with their hands ... and helps with hand and eye coordination. I'm blind in my right eye so the more crafts I do, the better. It's like they are learning occupational therapy at a young age. They will be more coordinated, more creative."

"It is a learning experience for both the parent and the child," said Gearen. "Lots of different people come to classes, not just environmentalists."

Gearen was a Sierra Club member for years, then began coordinating monthly workshops on sustainable living in 2004.

"People who came to the workshops were very enthusiastic, and I began getting requests for longer, more in-depth classes," she said.

Last April, Gearen gathered with friends to hold hands-on workshops at her house, which was named "The Green House."

Gearen picked up her own recycling education in an environmental class at the University of Hawaii. "It delved into the reality of living on an island and the outcome of our present behavior on our precious ecosystem. I have been an avid recycler since that time."

Learning to grow your own food and herbs, make your own soap and household cleaners, and how to use the sun and wind for power are a few of the things she teaches at workshops.

"Looking at the trash that comes into our home and trying to make a use for it is challenging. It is appalling to see how much trash we generate that must be thrown away because there is no creative way to use it."