AMHERST — A push by the state Legislature to reduce single-use plastics across the state, cutting down on the use of straws, carryout bags and utensils and at the same time increasing recycling and composting, is winning support from fifth graders at Fort River School.

“It’s important for us young people to show we care about this, too,” says fifth grader Ami Sarr, who was in a class endorsing the legislation that would require schools, among other places, to phase out the use of plastic forks, spoons and knives during lunch.

“The reason this is important is if Massachusetts does this change, other states closer to Massachusetts might, too, which will help,” adds classmate Rubi Polanco.

Understanding that plastic utensils are prominent in the school cafeteria, another class of fifth graders is focused on addressing how to change this practice, both in the school building and across the Amherst school district.

“We’re working toward the same goal: to reduce plastics and plastic pollution,” said fifth grader Emma Berkowitz-Jimenez.

As is customary for a number of years, the four fifth grade classes used their Civics Literacy and Engagement lessons this spring to make appeals to the community and beyond on social justice issues. While students in Deborah Felix’s and Ana Paul’s Caminantes dual Spanish and English classes engaged in finding ways to remove plastics from the waste stream, students in Samantha Comeau’s class aimed to promote food security, and students in long-term substitute Emery Stamper’s class focused on better gun safety.

With lots of knowledge about plastics already, and the state legislation, the students toward the end of the school year had an opportunity to learn more about the topic from Susan Waite, an Amherst resident who is a municipal assistance coordinator for the state’s Department of Environmental Protection. Waite walked the students through both composting and anaerobic digestion, and offered insights into whether using metal utensils and washing them is better environmentally than compostable utensils.

“It’s help us to know different solutions,” said fifth grader Nyasa Potter-Ndiaye, explaining that the class also heard from other experts.

“It’s helpful to know what is realistic,” Emma said. “It helps to get different opinions from people.”

Nyasa said students recently had a bake sale at the Amherst Farmers Market to raise money for making the utensils compostable. That collected $648.87.

But the students preferred option is to bring back metal utensils. “We’re thinking about metal utensils because we have a dishwasher we no longer use anymore,” Emma said.

While the situation has improved, with the plastic utensils no longer packaged in plastic wrap, Emma said the hope is to have something better by fall 2026, when the new school opens.

“It’s going to be really hard, but maybe we can have it in place for the new school,” Emma said.

Appealing to Amherst School Committee

Five of the students made a presentation to the Amherst School Committee this month on both plastics-related topics, speaking in both English and Spanish.

Fifth graders Katy Sumba, Elizabeth Marlin and Alex Follette explained the dangers of microplastics to people, animals and the oceans and that 1.3 million plastic utensils have been disposed at Fort River since they have been enrolled there. They also displayed a large box filled with plastic that wraps the fruit, cereal, graham crackers and other food items that are served each day at breakfast. Then, Carolyn MacLean and Alice Lackner presented signatures related to the community support for the state legislation.

“It is fun and we like coming to school to do it,” Elizabeth said of the civics lessons that encourages the students to use their voices. “Most importantly, it gives us a chance to make a difference in the world.”

School Committee Chairwoman Jennifer Shiao thanked the students for their work and applauded them for speaking in both languages, the first time she said during her tenure that anyone had addressed the committee in a language other than English. School Committee member Bridget Hynes noted the remarkable fluency of the students, who were among the first in the Caminantes program when it started in fall 2019.

Superintendent E. Xiomara Herman said she will ask the district’s operations division about what can be done to address plastics, citing her own experience in the Virgin Islands and the elimination of plastic straws to protect the ocean.

Fixing food insecurity

Food insecurity, both in Amherst and on college campuses, was the topic for students in Comeau’s class, with their work centered on both a bill making its way through the Legislature that would help college students access Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits and find ways to help local people.

Fifth grader Ava Hall said some college students are eligible for food stamps but aren’t aware they can access them. The Fort River students work included learning about the Massachusetts Hunger-Free Campus Coalition, with Laura Sylvester, the public policy manager at the Food Bank of Western Massachusetts, speaking to the class.

Part of the work by the students included understanding that Amherst is a food desert where it can be challenging to access groceries without a vehicle. They created a map showing this problem that organizations like the Amherst Mobile Market are helping to address.

Like students in the other classes, they went to the Amherst Farmers Market to do presentations and get signatures on a petition. “At the farmers market, people were saying there are students who are hungry,” said fifth grader Sonja Berggren-Briggs.

Fifth grader Ella Templeton-Suzuki said the class also did a food drive for the Amherst Survival Center, collecting grains, pasta and macaroni and cheese, filling a table in the classroom with the nonperishable items.

A final element of their work was holding a bake sale at Plum Brook soccer fields on Potwine Lane, with proceeds going to the survival center.

Addressing gun violence

Students in Stamper’s class showcased, through a large poster, the toll that gun violence takes in the United States, including on the well-being of those in school.

Maggie Sengle-Chin-Hong and Taku Parsons explained that the class chose the project after brainstorming about social justice issues, and how it might be possible to make a difference on an issue with widespread effects. The class is also highlighting two pieces of legislation, one that would require gun manufacturers to be more aware of where their guns are ending up and the other about keeping guns safely stored in homes.

Statistics drawn from Everytown for Gun Safety, showing that 125 people a day die from gun violence, whether by murder, suicide or accident, are included on a poster, which has charts showing how these numbers have changed over the years and the rates by state, with a diagram showing the toll this takes.

“School shootings can lead to death or trauma, loss of loved ones, and the trauma can lead to a negative association with schools, leading to uneducated people,” Maggie said.

The poster also explains how to contact prominent officials at the federal level as part of the advocacy. “Better and deeper mental health checks are needed for people who are buying and using guns,” Taku said.

Taku said the hope is to create a group called SAVE, or Students Against Violence Everywhere, for the Amherst schools, joining 135,000 members in 49 states. This youth leadership initiative can promote lockdown drills and education on bullying, getting an OK from principal.

“Our school already does a really good job on this,” Maggie said.

Still, improvements are possible. “We hope the school will have a better environment for students and staff members,” Maggie said.

Scott Merzbach can be reached at smerzbach@gazettenet.com.