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Teaching Turlockers to ‘Go Green’
Go Green Week Pitman
Students at Pitman High School pose alongside a City of Turlock worker Angel Ortiz after planting a Magnolia tree on campus Tuesday afternoon (Photo contributed).

This week marks the City of Turlock’s 17th annual Go Green Week, a campaign aimed at promoting environmental sustainability. Participating schools within the Turlock Unified School District have already begun touring local wastewater treatment and recycling facilities, participating in an art and recycling contest for children, and even planting new trees on their respective campuses.

“Students learn about the importance of conservation and pollution prevention strategies such as recycling, composting, water conservation and waste reduction habits,” the City of Turlock said in a release.

Go Green Week eCademy
eCademy Charter students get an up close look (and feel) of an iguana thanks to the Cruzin’ Critters nonprofit on Tuesday morning (Photo contributed).

By week’s end, over 20 trees will have been planted at six TUSD campuses. On Monday, four Eastern Redbuds were planted at Medeiros Elementary School. On Tuesday, four Ginko trees were planted at Turlock Junior High School, three Magnolias were planted at Pitman High and four Red Oaks were planted at Brown Elementary. Today, more Red Oaks will be planted on the grounds of Walnut Elementary while three Magnolias will be planted at Julien Elementary on Friday morning.

At eCademy Charter, students had a special visit from unique animals thanks to the Cruzin’ Critters non-profit. Children were able to hold, pet and feed animals like snakes, iguanas, owls and porcupines in an effort to give those in attendance a greater appreciation for the wildlife.

This year’s Go Green Week t-shirts feature the art of Medeiros Elementary student Anette Carillo, who won last year’s art contest. The winner of this year’s contest will have their art featured on shirts for next year’s festivities.

Go Green Week art work 2024
This year’s Go Green Week t-shirts feature the art of Medeiros Elementary student Anette Carillo, who won last year’s art contest (Photo contributed).

Also being offered to the public this week are free fixed route rides on the Turlock Transit and the Stanislaus Regional Transit Authority (StanRTA) buses. The goal of the joint promotion is to improve air quality through the reduction of single-occupant vehicle trips, reduce congestion and promote increased use of transit throughout the year. Funding for this joint promotion is made available through transit grants, including funding from the Low Carbon Transit Operations Program (LCTOP).