Great News

 There’s an unmistakable feeling in the air.

Composting, waste reduction and conservation in general are back in a big ways. Saving money energy and resources was never out of style, but today it’s even more important to the bottom line. At the same time, higher prices for newly extracted  energy and resources is making “found” energy, resources and even fertilizer in the form of Compost, much more desireable. Even better, these “found’ resources are available locally and require much less transportation cost. This was in clear focus at the recent U.S. Composting Council Convention in Austin last month. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

    Stan (on the left) with Jim McNelly of NaturTech Compost Systems and Robert Olivier of CompostMania.

 

 

I presented a pre-conference workshop titled, Best Practices in Compost Education to 19 active learners. Throughout the conference, the news of amazing synergies, increasing support for and recognition of the value of “The NEW Green Future” was evident. 

 

So because the climate for conservation is improving, as educators, it’s time to step it up to meet this need. At Tall Oak Productions, we’re very excited to be offering our best programs and products ever this year.  

 

New Program

Due to several requests, we’ve completely redesigned our compost assembly to use a video projector with cool new images, videos and lyrics to the songs on the big screen. The new assembly also includes “The People Pile”, a skit where a class decomposes on stage. It’s like Reader’s Theatre in which a narrator (a student) tells the story of a clever, curious kid (a student) who creates a compost pile out of (student) ingredients.  

 

Better Programs 

Our busy Fall tour of Kansas schools produced some feedback that we’re incorporating to better serve our clients.We’re revising our secondary program to be more interactive with the students. We’re also changing the way we deliver our advance materials to schools to insure the materials reach the “right” teacher. This extra step improves our effectiveness by increasing the preparation for and participation level in the assemblies.

 

Keep working what works!

As I enter my 20th year as an assembly presenter, I’m still in love with the fabulous feeling that comes after a great assembly.. I felt it early on and it only gets stronger as I hone my craft. My passion for this work grows every year and quotes like the one below confirm that this approach works. 

 

From Julie Coon Johnson county solid waste specialist:

I recently gave a presentation on environmental issues to a group of adults. When I walked out into the hallway, I had a woman approach me who looked to be in her mid-twenties. She asked me if I had ever heard of Stan Slaughter. She went on to say that it was because of Stan that she knew that she wanted to be an advocate for the environment. She told me she could even remember his songs that she learned when she was younger because they were so memorable. I guess she wanted to prove it to me because she started singing one of his songs to me there in the hallway! After all those years she can still recall the songs about the human connection to our water, air and resources. That kind of influence is remarkable!

 

Julie Coon

Solid Waste Specialist

Johnson County Environmental Department

913-715-6938

 

 

Getting Clearer

 Travel is always great and over the New Year we went to Northern Scotland. We witnessed a phenomenal woman leading a group. Her work set me to thinking about my work. I'm facilitating a fun learning environment for a large group of children. A good guitar player, yes. A knowledgeable teacher, of course, but really the work is to provide a "container" where art, science and education mix together and become truly memorable.

 

See you next time

Stan