THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT 
              Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: Sunday, February 26, 1995              TAG: 9502260092
SECTION: LOCAL                    PAGE: B3   EDITION: FINAL 
SOURCE: BY TONYA WOODS, STAFF WRITER 
DATELINE: NORFOLK                            LENGTH: Short :   47 lines

ENVIRONMENTAL SERIES MAKES LEARNING FUN HANDS-ON WORKSHOP HELPS TEACH LOCAL TEENS EARTH MATTERS.

Interest is all a student needed to attend the fourth annual Hampton Roads Clean Community Systems Environmental Education Conference for high school and middle school students, according to HRCCS member Denise Blanton.

And interest was high Saturday when more than 400 students, teachers and parents from throughout Hampton Roads attended the conference at Old Dominion University to increase their awareness and curiosity about the environment and careers it offers.

Natasha Allen, a sophomore at Phoebus High School in Hampton, didn't care about how to clean up oil spills quickly and effectively. But after watching a volunteer from the Virginia Marine Science Museum soak up oil with oil snares, pieces of plastic strewn together like pompons, Allen said she's no longer apathetic.

``Seeing how an oil spill is cleaned up makes me think about the safety of the animals that have to live in the water,'' she said.

Through workshops and environmental hands-on activities presented by local, regional and national experts, students learn about recycling, cleaning oil spills, protecting wildlife and preserving vegetation.

``We emphasize making learning about the environment fun and exciting,'' Blanton said.

Blanton believes a desire to learn about the environment is popular among teenagers, but they just need that extra push to nurture those desires.

``Last year, when we had students evaluate the conference a lot of them had requests for more hands-on activities as opposed to just lectures,'' she said.

Though there were still lecturers at the conference, topics were not just traditional ``save the earth'' discussions. From making art out of trash to creating plans to protect the environment for housing developments, more than 30 presenters showed students the impact everyday life has on the Earth.

Barbara Mastice, an environmentalist from Virginia Beach, said students are learning simple things, such as putting a bag beside your trash can for recyclables, can make a difference.

``Once we become more educated about the environment it all begans to make sense,'' she said, ``and eventually it just falls into place.'' by CNB