Har-Ber High School

Making sound information accessible for Springdale families is imperative to building a community of recyclers and extending the life of the Eco-Vista Landfill in Springdale, Osburn said.

“We have a lot of recyclables that end up in the trash, and we only have one landfill in Northwest Arkansas,” she said. “We want to preserve its lifeline and preserve the space there, and one way to do that is by recycling and recycling more.”

Boston Mountain Solid Waste District is launching a recycling awareness and educational campaign this month that will impact all Springdale residents with curbside trash collection and recycling, she said.

Boston Mountain is working to reach residents by using smart truck technology on its recycling trucks, Osburn said. Truck cameras take photos of the truck hopper and of the street where recyclables are collected. AI data from the trucks is combined with GPS tracking data to send residents direct feedback on any items they attempt to recycle that can’t be processed for recycling.

“Then all of that will also be connected to printed educational materials that will go out to residents’ households,” she said of the information translated by the students.

The Har-Ber High School students helped translate the campaign materials as part of an Education Accelerated by Service and Technology project, which included an info card mailer, a recycling tips mailer, an in-home recycling bin request form, a recycling bin instruction trifold, a refrigerator magnet and a “Download Guides in Marshallese” button for the Boston Mountain website, Osburn said.

Salas Aguilar said it’s rewarding to know the information they helped translate will be incorporated into residences throughout Springdale.

“We know we're helping other people,” she said.

The students met all deadlines, Osburn said, noting they had just one week to complete the EAST project.

“It was a lot of translating,” Batlok said.

Bill Mills, Har-Ber High School EAST facilitator and psychology teacher, said the translation project was in keeping with the goal of the EAST Initiative.

“EAST's mission is to provide an environment that fosters relevant, individualized, life-changing experiences through service and technology,” Mills said. “It fosters a sense of agency and community, while building communication skills and confidence. They see their skills and effort go to work.”

The project was a true growth opportunity for the students, he said.

“Students learning new skills and strengthening the skills they already possess, working as a team with other students, learning to work with clients and partners at the community and professional level, that is education at its most real,” Mills said.

Mack said they translated the material to the best of their understanding before bringing it to Har-Ber Marshallese instructional assistant Kemram Olson to verify for accuracy.

“It feels good in the end, knowing that we helped people,” Mack said. “But at first, we didn't really have a vision of what we were really going to do for this group and this project.”

Mea said there was a fair amount of pressure to make sure the translations were accurate.

“Working together, I feel, made it so much easier,” Mea said.

The students were recognized for their efforts at the May Boston Mountain Solid Waste Board Meeting at Farmington City Hall, which was attended by Washington and Madison county mayors and representatives.

Mack and Batlok represented the student translation team at the meeting and were gifted a book on climate change from Springdale Mayor Doug Sprouse.

The mayor recognized the students for their work and noted that even he will be impacted by their efforts.

“Thank you and the East program at Har-Ber High School,” Sprouse told the students. “I'm pleased to find out it's everyone, and that absolutely means me.”

Osburn said she hopes the recycling awareness and education campaign is a success and that it will encourage Springdale residents who aren’t currently recycling to do so and will increase the amount of recycling residents are currently doing.

“Hopefully it'll get some new, first-time recyclers,” she said. “It just makes this an all-inclusive project that is really important when it comes to social and environmental sustainability.”