CLASSROOM PROGRAMS

Kids talk trash… and see it, and touch it, and recycle it and even get SOL credit for it! As the stewards of today’s — and tomorrow’s — environment, children need to learn early on about good recycling habits and their importance to their health and future.

SPSA helps teach them how to “clean up their act” in ways that are interactive, amusing, fun and memorable. Sorry, we can’t help with their rooms or their tastes in television programming!

Classroom Presentations

SPSA provides a free, classroom-based environmental education program to area schools in SPSA's member jurisdictions (Chesapeake, Franklin, Isle of Wight County, Norfolk, Portsmouth, Southampton County, Suffolk and Virginia Beach) to help students, grades kindergarten through 12, learn about the 3Rs of waste management (reduce, reuse, recycle) and what they can do to help protect the environment.

Classroom presentations are 30 to 45 minutes in length designed for approximately 60 students per presentation. The classroom presentations are booked according to availability.

To set up a classroom presentation at your school, call the Environmental Educator at (757) 420-4700 or fill out this e-form.

Trashanator Program

SPSA offers a free, 45-minute play designed to educate school-aged children, grades K–5, with challenging and interesting environmental preservation and conservation information, while taking them on a race through one of their favorite mediums — the television. Through the play, students will learn the importance of recycling, proper disposal of household hazardous waste, and the unique ways that trash is managed in the South Hampton Roads region. This play, performed by the ODU Playtime Theater, is correlated to a number of math and science Standards of Learning requirements as identified through the Virginia Board of Education. Pre-selected performance dates are booked on a first come, first served basis.

See photos of a Trashanator performance.

To schedule a Trashanator performance call (757) 420-4700 or fill out this e-form.

Teacher Training

Did you that you make 2,000 pounds of trash a year!  If you want to learn fun, hands-on and effective ways to teach your students about solid waste management, the concepts of reduce, reuse and recycle and the importance of conserving our natural resources, join in on SPSA’s Talking Trash Teacher Workshop.  The workshop is aligned with the Virginia Standards of Learning and each teacher who attends will receive Talking Trash! An Environmental Education Curriculum Guide on Solid Waste Management. 

To schedule Teacher Training for your school call (757) 420-4700 or fill out this e-form.

Facility Tours

SPSA facility tours are available to school groups, civic groups, business clubs and scout groups. Tours are generally scheduled on Fridays between 9:00 a.m. and 12:00 p.m. or 1:00 p.m. and 3:00 p.m.  All tours need to be scheduled through our Public Relations and Marketing Department.  All tours are free of charge and are booked according to availability. Your tour group cannot exceed over 35 people.

Call the Public Relations and Marketing Department at (757) 420-4700 for more information on SPSA facility tours.

Community Activities and Mascot Super SPSA Roo

SPSA actively participates in activities and community events such as Community Day and Earth Day. Also, SPSA’s mascot, Super SPSA Roo — a life-size costume character in the form of a kangaroo — regularly attends events such as parades and community events, free of charge, on a first-request basis.

For more information about having Super SPSA Roo at your community event or parade, call the Environmental Educator at (757) 420-4700 or fill out this e-form.