Governor Dan McKee and First Lady Susan McKee arrived at Park Elementary School on Friday to a crowd of excited second- and third-graders ready to learn about eradicating litter.
The two read the brand-new Litter-Free Rhode Island Coloring Book, which was created to help teach children about why it is important to keep their communities clean.
The visit was part of the McKees’ Litter-Free Rhode Island campaign, launched in 2022.
Helping keep communities clean, Susan McKee said, is a big source of civic pride, and something that everyone, no matter what age, can be part of.
“We know that we live in a beautiful state, don’t we?” the first lady told the students. “Rhode Island is a beautiful state. It has beautiful beaches, parks and neighborhoods, and we want Rhode Island to be the most beautiful, the cleanest, the healthiest state in the whole country. We know that we can do that if we all work together.”
The book’s author, Jordan Brazeau, attended Park and graduated from Pilgrim High School as its class president last year. He and the book’s illustrator, Margaret Price, had been working on the book as part of the Litter Free RI campaign after they pitched to the McKees the idea of a coloring book to get young people engaged in the Litter-Free Rhode Island campaign.
Park principal Dan Sylvestre said Brazeau’s work with the governor and first lady showed current students that they could go on to do great things. Brazeau said that he hoped he could at least inspire students and their families to be active in keeping their communities clean.
“This was designed to inspire young people like all of you – and me, I’m still young too,” Brazeau said, “to think about the impact of litter and take action in their own communities, which is key to maintaining a healthy and sustainable community. Each page tells a story of young leaders in Rhode Island taking initiative.”
Price, who is studying political science and global studies at Providence College, said illustrating the book showed her how her different passions could intersect.
“Working on this coloring book reflected for me how politics, art and education can come together to protect our beautiful lands and waters,” Price said. “Participating in cleanups, learning about recycling and becoming more conscious about our intertwined relationships with the Earth starts with kids like you, so it’s important for all of us to get involved in caring for our state.”
The coloring pages within the book follow a plot line of Jordan and his friends cleaning litter from a beach, with the shore cleaned up by the final pages.
The book also ended with some trivia questions about Rhode Island, which the governor asked the crowd after he was done reading.
The governor also gave Sylvestre a certificate of recognition on behalf of the whole school for their work helping in the Litter-Free Rhode Island program.
“You kids play such an important role in this,” Dan McKee said. “You’re going to be a big, big help and make our state really shine.”
After reading to the second- and third-graders, the governor and first lady visited classrooms, helping kids color and signing their coloring books.
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