Student Filmmakers Hired by City of Elk Grove

Got batteries? Do you know how to dispose of them properly? 

This is a question my 6th grade students asked four years ago when they began working on Project Citizen, a civic education project which teaches students how to monitor and influence public policies. They were evaluating the policies regulating the disposal of batteries in the State of California.

As part of their research my 6th grade students met with Cedar Kehoe, the City of Elk Grove's Integrated Waste Manager. They had spent several weeks researching, reading, and digesting the policies regulating the disposal of batteries and the results of these regulations, and they had formed an action plan they wanted to present to Cedar

In our state, we properly dipose of less than 1% of batteries used in our homes. The rate for car batteries is considerably higher, however. Why? When a person buys a new battery and has it installed, the hundreds of auto shops or parts houses throughout our state will take that battery off your hands and properly dispose of it for you. 

My students came up with the idea of lobbying Cedar Kehoe to place battery collection stations at all 39 elementary, 9 middle, and 9 high schools in the Elk Grove Unified School District. At the time, she declined based a lack of funds to maintain 57 collection points. My students had learned that currently, California residents pay no recycling fees on standard household batteries, nor are battery producers legally obligated to practice what is called "Extended Producer Responsibility" where they are responsible for the creation, sale, and recycling of their product.  

Last year, my students met again with Cedar, to propose just one collection station at our school, Foulks Ranch Elementary. Cedar and her staff came to our class, listened and discussed the problem of improper battery disposal, and listened attentively to what my students had to say. 

This time, she declined to place a station at our site for safety reasons but proposed to my students a way they could make a huge impact on our community when it comes to battery disposal. 

For the past 7 years the City of Elk Grove has been navigating a sea of red tape, permits, applications, and other hurdles in an effort to build a new, Special Waste Collection Center near the intersection of Grantline and Highway 99. If you've driven by lately, you've probably noticed a lot of construciton and the skeleton of a large, wooden framed building rising from the soil. 

"How about YOU make a film," Cedar asked my students, "educating the citizens of our city how to safely package and transport not just their batteries but ALL their household hazardous waste to the new Special Waste Collection Center?" 

The response was unanimous. 

So here we are, a year later, in production! The script is complete, written by students using research from the city and revised and fact checked by the city and their teacher. Last week we recorded our voiceover and are editing the audio. Next week we begin filming. We've allotted two days to capture all our "B-roll" footage.

And then will begin the post-production phase: timing the imagery to match the voiceover, adding text and lower thirds and motion graphics, color grading the footage, experimenting with split screens, picking the right camera angle, making or finding copyright free or Creative Commons licensed music that can be used as a "sound bed" for the film. 

And who will be doing all this? Eleven and twelve year old kids with the coaching of their teacher with the consent and advice of the city officials who asked us to create this film. 

It's amazing what kids can do with technology and coaching and a purpose. I can only applaud Cedar Kehoe, our city's Integrated Waste Manager, for seeing in my students something I had known from working so closely with them: they are amazing kids who can do amazing things if given the opportunity. 

Stay tuned for our finished film production. It will be released this summer at the grand opening of the City of Elk Grove's Special Waste Collection Center!