Carry In Carry Home
Held every year since 1995, the Carry In/Carry Out poster contest in the Edgartown and Oak Bluffs schools is one of the most familiar to the community. Students in Grades 5 through 8 are invited to submit posters illustrating the Carry In/Carry Out theme. This is widely used in wilderness areas -- “Take only pictures and leave only footprints”.
As part of the science curriculum students learn that a plastic six-pack ring can interfere with sea birds feeding if it encircle their necks, and small pieces of Styrofoam can be mistaken for fish eggs. Marine mammals can ingest plastic bags floating in the water mistaking them for jellyfish, normally part of their diet. Students learn not only about the environmental impact of litter but also that they can be leaders in environmental education.
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The 44 winning posters are chosen from several hundred entries. In the spring an awards ceremony is held at the schools at which winners receive their original poster laminated, a certificate from the Friends of Sengekontacket and $20. The winning posters are color copied, laminated and displayed on stanchions on pathways to State Beach, in framed display cases on Steamship Authority vessels, and in the public libraries.
