To commemorate Earth Day last month, first- and second-grade students participating in an enrichment activity at the Ethel A. Jacobsen Elementary School in Surf City took recycling in an elaborate, creative direction. The end result? A sea creature and a pine monster made of discarded items and bits and pieces from nature!

For this after-school program, teachers Katherine Holloway, Stephanie Ivancich, Lisa Benjamin and Lisa Boyd intended “to enrich the students’ awareness about reusing materials…