See how Sheringham Avenue have been saving the planet, one bite at a time! Pages 12 & 13 Serving sustainabilityup Quality Checkerteam!conference
Newsflash Listen to Zest wherever you are! Our more accessible read-along version of Zest can be found on Hive. Inside 14 6 2016 Mission update Check out what our sustainable sidekicks have been up to! 60 seconds with Caroline Byram How Caroline is being eco-friendly at work and home. This issue’s cover star is Neil from Sheringham Avenue. Take a look at how he’s helping his service to become more eco-friendly on page 12! Our cover star Our Values Our ETHOS values are a big part of what makes Voyage Care so special! Some of the stories in this issue really show our values in action. Can you spot them? EmpoweringEOutstandingO SupportiveS TogetherHonestTH 2 hiv e Come and litter pick with Nathan See how Nathan helps the planet while getting out in the community. Getting creative Tudor Rose give furniture a new lease of life. 21 Your nominations are in! 14 16 21 Energy Educator Waste Warrior Water Wiz Energy Educator Waste Warrior Water Wiz Waste Warrior Water Wiz 6
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Welcome to our annual environmental issue! Every issue of Zest features stories about the great work our services across the country are doing to be more environmentally friendly. This special edition is filled with inspiration to help you start your own eco journey, or bring fresh ideas to the amazing work you’re already doing! Earlier this year we launched Mission:Zero, our campaign to encourage the Voyage Care family to come together to reduce our impact on the world around us, whether that’s in one of our locations, or at home. You’ll meet Captain Planet’s newest sustainable sidekick in this issue, I hope the tips they share help you to make eco-friendly choices! I’m always amazed by the creative and fun ways you find to support our mission. As ever, we’d love to hear from you, so whether you have feedback to share, or a story you think would be perfect on the pages of Zest, get in touch at communications@voyagecare.com fromFive a look at what’s been happening on Andrew Cannon and Estelle Anderson both blogged about our ambitions around Equality, Diversity and Inclusion is a hub of activity It’s full of helpful information – take a look today! e shared lots of stories for Learning Disability Week where the theme was reconnecting with loved ones and the community. The most liked story was Andrew from CornerwaysWewithcelebrated Pride across Hive in June and 385 of you downloaded our Pride toolkit, packed full of activities. You loved watching the highlights from the Quality Checker event. That was our most commented video for June, with comments! e likes picked up the Bronze award in Magazine’sCommunicate Best Intranet category. We’re super excited to put the trophy on display in the reception of our Group Support office!
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Langley House have connected with their local community by giving access to their land for an exciting community-based growing project! Wivey Grows now uses some of Langley’s land to grow fresh produce, promote healthier lifestyles and wellbeing. They also make tasty frozen meals with the produce which anyone can collect for a small donation. Some meals are also donated to low-income households. 1: What distance is Dan’s colour run? A: 1K B: 2K C: 5K You’re doing a great job of being greener – here’s how some of our services are looking after the environment…
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The pair have been training for the event together, raising money along the way. Best of luck to you both! Head to Hive to find out how Dan and Charlotte are preparing to cross the finishing line! hiv e Support WorkerCharlotte and Dan,ready to run Visit Hive to find out more about the project! hiv e touchin
Rising to the challenge!
gardeningCommunity Question
Dan from Marner House has set himself the challenge of completing a 5K colour run. With support from Charlotte and the team, he’s hoping to not only complete the course in his wheelchair but to walk across the finish line, too!
CaptainPLANET’S
5 From bug hotels to bird feeders, Woodley House have loved celebrating Earth Day! Everyone helped making beautiful nature collages, planting seeds, completing word searches and colouring in. They enjoyed learning about the environment and encourage others to think more about how we can help our planet. One of our BIR (Brain Injury Rehabilitation) services, The Woodlands have set themselves the challenge to change the planet for the better. One thing they have done is swap out some of their meals for a plantbased option. With 700 meals prepared a week at The Woodlands, that’s now around 350 plantbased meals a week! Last year, as part of the summer Activ8 challenge, Rivers created a beautiful pond in their back garden! A year on, and the pond is now surrounded by lovely flowers and plants. Everyone at Rivers is working super hard to freshen up their garden – we can’t wait to see how it blooms further! Garden!Project Creatures great and small Joseph having fun mowing Making itmeat free We love thewater feature CHALLENGE Read more about Woodlands meat free meals on Hive! hiv e 1Got some news? Send your story to communications@voyagecare.com for your chance to feature in the next issue! Here's Andrew, one of our Support Workers from BROCS signing ‘Our Planet’. Makaton magic!Tolearn Dean and Davidpicking out theirmeatless evening meal 'Our planet'
The Environmental
167 views of the Educator’sEnergypage 203 downloads of the
Rosie from Broadview takes her own containers and refills them at the shop to reduce plastic Jill made her own compost and used it in her hanging baskets
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Over the last year, we have made good progress in reducing the impact we have on our planet as an organisation. Now more than ever, with energy bills rising both at home and at work, it’s important for us all to play our part in reducing energy usage. We launched Mission:Zero to challenge us all to think about what changes we could make to save energy, conserve water and reduce waste. We’re incredibly proud of how well we have worked together on this already, and we thank everyone who took the time to share their meter readings. We have more work to do in this area and the retrofit pilot that will soon be underway will look at how we can make all our properties greener! As we get closer to winter, we will continue to share advice on what you can do to keep everyone comfortable whilst saving energy. Remember, if you’re unsure of how to adjust your heating controls you can speak to your property manager. As always, we’d like to thank you for your support. We remain inspired by the creative ways our services help look after our planet. After all, it’s together that we can make an impact. Committee to the Mission:Zero area on Hive Mission:Zero toolkit
In numbers 996 Visits
EnvironmentalCommittee…Aletterfromthe
You can find out more about our Environmental hiv e The next sustainable sidekick supporting our mission is Waste Warrior, here to help us lead the fight against waste! Check out Waste Warrior’s top tips to try in your service or at home… Put a poster near the recycling bin to remind you what goes where Make sure you take your own reusable bags to the towasteMakecontainersplasticsSwapusingyou’reDonateshopsclothesnolongertocharityyoursingle-useforreusableuseofyourfoodbylearninghowcompost21354 Check out the Mission:Zero area on Hive to find out more about Captain Planet’s sustainable sidekicks! hiv e Neil at AvenueSheringhamputtingtherecyclingintherightbin The thewe’retheWasteaboutCommitteeEnvironmentaltellusallMission:Zero,Warriorandpositivechangesmakingtohelpplanet. shortThestory Energy Educator Waste Warrior Introducing... 3 sustainablesidekicks alongsidePlanetCaptain 58 people tried the Meatless Monday meal plan Simon donates his clothes when they don’t fit him anymore 7
“The most important message from today is that everybody can make a difference. Our Quality Checkers will go into our services and offer advice and help, letting people know we all have a responsibility to look after our planet for future generations!” said Ian. Our Quality Checkers are people we support that visit other services and make sure everyone is living a happy and healthy life. On 25 May, the Zest team headed to Drayton Manor to join the Quality Checkers at their annual conference… Quality Checkers will be visiting our services offering help and advice on being more eco-friendly!
We joined Ian Burgess, Senior Trainer and Gordon Elloway, Care Trainer as they delivered their environmental workshop. The Quality Checkers shared ideas on how we can help our services be more eco-friendly –our favourites were ‘stop using single-use cups, take your own with you’ and ‘check packaging before you recycle’.
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After a game of recycling bingo, everyone felt raring to go and join Captain Planet and his three sustainable sidekicks on their quest to save energy, conserve water and reduce waste!
After partying the night away the evening before, the Quality Checkers were excited to learn more about their role and how they can make a difference in the lives of the people we support. Throughout the day, there were several workshops – from the importance of protecting people’s data to taking care of our planet. There was also a chance to ask CEO Andrew any burning questions.
House! recyclingPlayingbingo fun
9 If we didn’t have Quality Checkers, we wouldn’t know how other people want to live their lives. It is so important.” Abigail, a person we support from Sadler’s Place Question 2: How many sidekicks does Captain Planet have? A: 5 B: 4 C: 3 Take a look at the photos from the conference and party and catch up on some of the extra content from the Quality Checker conference on Hive. hiv e Rosie from Broadview is a Quality Checker who loves looking after the planet. Here are her top tips: Top tips! Turn the lights off when you aren’t in the room Recycle youeverythingcan Grow your own veg Compost your waste Put your glass in the bottle bank52134Readylearn!to Abigail and her supportworker, Athena We’ll catch up with the Quality Checkers soon to see how they’ve been making a difference! takingRosieout the recycling! “You need to speak to Steve the Gardener for this one!” says Rosie. Watch Steve’s gardening club episodes on Hive!
10 “It’s just so amazing for everyone; the people we support, their families and the team. We are all so proud,” shared Kelly Barnard, Service Manager. There were endless reasons why the service has remained Outstanding, but one thing the inspectors highlighted was the work of the team to help the people we support learn new skills to improve their health and wellbeing. One of those new skills was gardening! The people we support have loved growing things and had lots of produce on the go over summer, from sunflowers to tomatoes and even rhubarb!
shortThestory
People CQCtheyinnovativeexploringthroughpositiveachievedoutcomestheteamandbeinginthewaysupportedthem.”Inspector
“Think outside the box: look at ways you can implement changes to achieve people’s goals!” Service Manager, Kelly Barnard Kelly’s top tip for achieving Outstanding!
(Left to right) Kelly, Rebecca,Helene, Joseph, Leona and Anniewith their CQC certificates
“People’s independence was encouraged by the team, who were creative in finding ways to enable people’s living skills to flourish,” added the CQC inspector. The end of July marks exactly eight years since the team achieved their first Outstanding rating, which definitely calls for celebration! The team have planned a carnival at the service for the people we support and their families, getting everyone involved in planning the games. And as for the food, well there are lots of home-grown goodies to enjoy too!
do it again!
It’s no easy task to achieve a CQC Outstanding rating, let alone keep it, but Derwent Cottage in Scarborough have done just that for the past eight years!
Head to Hive to read more from Kelly about their Outstanding journey… hiv e Derwent Cottage have kept their CQC Outstanding rating for eight years! The inspectors loved the way the team encouraged everyone to learn new skills –growingespeciallyplantsand food!
Hot off the press! Come behind the scenes with us to find out how Zest is made! Didyouknow? plantedSixtreesareforeverytreeweusetomake Zest! Cutting the magazine We put the finishing touches to the magazine and send it over to Lichfield Printers. They get to work, and Zest comes to life! bound and folded. The magazines are then packaged up and sent in the post to our services! The team recycle any waste and scrap paper. record Zest Readalong and share both versions online for our readers and listeners to enjoy! Step 2 Step 4 The Internal Communications team meet up. We discuss the upcoming edition and what amazing stories we have from our services. Once the stories are written, we send them to our creative design team at Words&Pictures. know?Didyou Fromstarttofinish, eachissueofZest takesthreemonthstocreate! Zest in the printing press Designing Zest Step 1 Meet Izzy – resident pooch at Lichfield Printers and a big fan of chasing the scrap paper! Have you got a job that you’re passionate about? Let us know what you do and why you love it: communications@voyagecare.com Gettouchin
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To celebrate their recent National Autistic Society (NAS) Advanced Accreditation, Sheringham Avenue hosted a BBQ with an environmentally friendly twist! Lev having a lovely time Yummy chickenon bamboo sticks
Sheringham celebrates sustainably
Preparing for any BBQ takes quite a bit of planning, but the team and people we support wanted to be more sustainable by making small changes to help look after the planet. A member of the team has an allotment which the service uses regularly, so the people we support went along and handpicked some peppers that they helped to grow. The peppers got a prime spot on the BBQ! The people we support have loved getting involved with the allotment, so the service is planning their own vegetable patch in the garden so they can continue growing more fresh produce. To help reduce the use of plastic, the service used recyclable materials like bamboo sticks for their chicken skewers – a personal favourite for Lev, a person we support – and tin foil to cover their food. They also used their normal plates and cutlery so that they could be washed and reused. It was a team effort to make the BBQ a success! “The people we support mowed the grass, picked up any rubbish and cleaned the outdoor furniture,” said Edem, Senior Support
Feeling inspired by Sheringham Avenue’s sustainable BBQ? Here are some top tips on how to host your own! How to host your own… Cut food waste by only catering for what you need Check what you already have in the fridge and cupboards before buying packagingboxesTakeshopsShoptoStickbamboofriendlyUseSayfootprintBBQThrowingfoodaveg-heavywillcutyourcarbonbynearlyhalfnotoplasticcutlery!environmentallyalternativeslikeorpalmleaflabelsonbags/binshelpguestsrecyclesmallandatlocalfarmandgreengrocers.yourownbagsandtoavoidusingplasticandbagswe support as they played a huge part in being awarded the accreditation. The people we support certainly enjoyed celebrating together. Celebrating together 1We’d love to find out how your sustainable BBQ went! Get in touch by emailing communications@voyagecare.com Gettouchin sustainableBBQ The impressive peppers! Sheringham Avenue hosted a sustainable BBQ to Accreditation!AdvancedSocietyNationalachievingcelebratetheirAutistic(NAS) shortThestory AvenueSheringham arethetheeversecondservicetoreceiveAdvanced Accreditation! I’ve loved being with the team and housemates and having a nice get-together and meal!” Neil, a person we support 13
Committee? “I have always been passionate about environmental issues, since I was a teenager.” Why is it important to have an Environmental Committee at Voyage Care? “We have an opportunity to lead the sector and make a difference that benefits the people we support, our colleagues and the wider community. Our customers also expect it from us now – we’re seeing it become a non-negotiable part of our contracts with them.”
Question3: Whatcrittercanhelpwithyourcompost? A:Worm
ByramCarolineWhatmadeyouwanttojointheEnvironmental
Hive! hiv e
Chair of our Environmental , we caught up with Caroline about how she looks after the planet both B: C: more from our CommitteeEnvironmentalon
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Old Ford End are already following one of Caroline’s top tips! They have a little caddy for food waste in their kitchen which the people we support then take to the compost bin in the garden.
How do you look after the planet outside of work? “My family and I try to be mindful about our carbon footprint. From stainless steel straws to water usage when brushing teeth. We also walk a lot! It sometimes drives the kids crazy, but we always have to walk, even to school!”
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Eat locallyand seasonally Caroline’s really looking forward to enjoying some apples and pears this autumn!
Lotsofcommunities haveapplepressingdays!Carolineandherfamilylovetogoalongandturntheirapplesintojuice.
Three top tips to make your service more sustainable Caroline’squick
wins!
There are lots of swaps you can make to reduce plastic in service. Why not ditch plastic bottles and use a milk delivery service who use glass bottles instead? “Make sure you think outside the box! Lots of toiletries like shampoo and handwash come in plastic bottles. There’s lots of places you can refill with your own containers instead of buying new each time,” added Caroline.
Reduce plastic
Composting is super easy, and you don’t need a lot of space at all! Caroline recommends using windowsill wormeries if you’re tight on space. You can keep them in the garden or on the kitchen windowsill. “When you have a glut of apples, chop them up and put them in orange juice – then cook! This creates an apple compote which you can put in the freezer,” shared Caroline.
To replace and upgrade parts of the home to make them better for the environment!
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What project that the Committee is working on are you most looking forward to? “Definitely the retrofit pilot! It has the potential to transform the energy performance of homes, but most importantly, transform the environment for the people we support.”
Caroline Byram, Director of Sales, Communications and Property
What does retrofit mean?
Make the little things part of your everyday, they all add up.”
Windowsill wormeries
Old Ford End have been cutting waste by composting
know?Didyou
His favourite places to litter pick are in the local park and community gardens. Nathan will walk around for hours in these areas and sometimes he will even have a quick break in the park!
Litter picking is Nathan’s favourite activity, he’ll choose to do this over anything else! He enjoys the exercise from walking and helping the environment by keeping everywhere tidy.
Come and... litter pick with Nathan
Quickequipmentchecks
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Enjoying the sunshine Nathan enjoys keeping his local area clean and tidy, but before he heads out, he does a quick equipment check to make sure he has everything he needs!
Nathan, a person we support at Ashby Road, loves getting out in the community litter picking! We found out what he gets up to…
17 After spending the day litter picking, Nathan always washes his hands and then rewards himself with a nice cold drink whilst playing one of his favourite games. Nathan’s checklist! Here’s what equipment he needs for litter picking A bin bag to put the rubbish in A grabber to stop him from bending over and help with back support Gloves to protect hands from anything sharp Hi-vis jacket so he’s seen when out in the Comfycommunityshoes,as he can be walking for a while! Whilst Nathan is out and about, he bumps into members of the public who thank him for doing a wonderful job and sometimes give him chocolates –yummy! chocolatesYummy Well done to Nathan, for helping the environment! Get in touch Would you like to share something that you’ve been doing to look after our planet for the next issue of Zest? communications@voyagecare.comEmail 1 Nathan loves helping and making people happy! He enjoys being busy all the time – if he isn’t litter picking, he is working at a soup kitchen or ManagerRegionalRachelgardening.”Tundervary,SupportA game Nathanmade himself!
Having spent over 20 years in different hospitals, the team had quite the challenge to help Katie transition to living in the community. But Katie has found comfort and confidence by transforming her garden.
As well as getting used to her new surroundings, Katie also had to adapt to a new routine and some new faces, too! When she first moved in, the garden wasn’t looking its best, so it was the perfect project to get stuck into.
The team have found helping Katie transform the garden a great way to bond. They have Googled together what to plant, what vegetables to grow, as well as how best to look after it all.
shortThestory Katie’s gardeningtoptip! “Don’t be afraid to get dirty and take your time. Theresultofwatchingyour flowers grow is motivation and achievement!”
Katie, a person we support from Essex DCA has transformed the garden in her new home to help her and her cat feel settled!
Katie and Timmy on his birthday
Katie and her cat Timmy are settling in...
Moving into a new home is always a challenge but one year after moving, with help from the team,
Creature comforts
“It gives Katie and the team something to do together, helping build trust,” said Branch Manager Lisa. One of the biggest parts of the move for Katie, was her cat. Timmy loves sitting on the new ‘catio’ (cat patio) that Katie bought, whilst she’s out gardening.
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Katie, a person we support from Essex DCA comforts
Seed-sational work!
The team started buying seeds during COVID-19 and James has been helping them look after the beds and water the seeds ever since. Fast forward a year, and they’re harvesting the benefits!
James looking after his seeds Katie popping out to take care of the plants
When I do my gardening, it makes me feel very relaxed and calm.”
The seeds they planted are now ripe and tasty vegetables that are ready to eat! So far, they’ve grown cucumbers, sweetcorn and courgettes but they’re hoping to grow more in the near future.
James is non-verbal, but the team can see how much he enjoys visiting the vegetable patch by his facial expressions, especially during the summer months because he loves being outdoors and helping his support team.
James, a person we support at Peacock Hay, is a keen gardener and loves mucking in wherever he can!
“The garden has given Katie a routine. In the evening, it gets her back out with the task of watering the plants. It means she’s not just sat waiting for bedtime or getting anxious. This has had a great impact on her wellbeing,” added Lisa.
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Interested in gardening? Join our Voyage Care gardening club! You can find all the episodes on Hive hiv e
Tudor Rose received an exciting delivery of new bedroom furniture, but they found it too hard to throw away their old furniture… so they decided to give it a new lease of life instead!
Look for makeover ideas – find inspiration online for new ways to upcycle household items, try Instagram or Pinterest Plan ahead – before you start working on your project make sure the item will be fit for purpose Equipment at the ready – you’ll need essentials like a glue gun, paint, a hammer and maybe even a small drill
of paintA lick
Here’s everything you need to start upcycling
The team and people we support put their heads and hands to work and upcycled a pair of bedside drawers by transforming them into beautiful, tiered planters! The people we support helped paint their new planters in lots of colours to give their garden a fresh new look.
“We spent the evening putting everything together on the patio and it looks amazing! We also made use of our driveway to make it look welcoming for families and other visitors!” said Rebecca, Service Manager.
While the planters were drying, the team took the people we support to the local market and garden centre so they could choose their own flowers to go in the planters, which they really enjoyed!
A new lease of life Suzanne next toher handiwork
Find the right place – you’ll need somewhere to store your item when you’re not working on it and the perfect spot for it once it’s complete!
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Question4: wereHowmanynominationsreceivedthisyear? A: Over 800B:Over1,000C:Over1,200 We received over 1,200 nominations for this year’s Voyage Excellence Awards! Your stories of dedication and great care and support over the last year really wowed the judges. The judges now have some tough decisions to make, choosing this years winners! The big day will be here before we know it! This year, the VEAs will take place on Thursday 20 October, and we have a night of celebration planned for our finalists. Our regional events will also be taking place in late summer, so look out for further details about the winners in your region on WeHive!can’t wait to celebrate our fantastic colleagues; even if you can’t be there in person, you can cheer along at home as the event will be going live virtually, too! The communications team are on hand to answer any of your questions, email us at communications@voyagecare.com 1Gettouchin 1,200+nominations850+nominees 21 Our are being chosen...winners
22 Did you know that when bees try to drink water, there is a risk they could drown? Recently, Gorse Hill have shared a fun activity to help create a safe environment for bees when they have a drink. Get ready, it’s time to save the bees! This is very quick and simple and the people we support had so much fun doing it that they wanted to share it with other services. Now everyone can come together to save the ServiceAnnemariebees!”Gallagher,Manager Get in touch Have you done something you’re proud of? Get in touch by emailing communications@voyagecare.com to be featured in the next edition of show and tell! 1 How to: 1. Grate your apples until you get to the core 2. Put the grated apple into your foil containers 3. Pour in cold water until it’s level with the grated apple 4. Leave outside for the bees to land and drink –the apple gives the bees something to stand on! Learn to make a bee drinking bath Things you need: l Pie or tart containers,foilcleaned l Two apples l Grater l Water Enjoyed this activity? Head to Hive for another bee-tastic activity! hiv e Showand tell! Paul making his bee drinking baths to help save the bees
Would you like to be Zest’s next featured reader? Email communications@voyagecare.com and tell us why you love Zest 1
The results are in… Congratulations to Arnold Road, the winners of our Pride bake-off competition! We asked you to make the brightest, most colourful Pride bake. Arnold Road created a real showstopper with their giant rainbow-inspired cake –the judges loved their creativity. Well done, Arnold Road! The winning bake We recently hosted a growing together meeting all about how Voyage Care manages the money of the people we support. The team are creating a ‘People we support finance portal’ which will help with managing money. It will have lots of features that help to make finances easier to understand. The people we support were very involved and enthusiastic, they gave helpful feedback and fantastic new ideas! They loved being able to meet in person again. “It’s so nice to be back and see all of your faces,” said Tim from Northfield House. Everyone understood how important having access to their own money is and were glad to be informed of how their benefits are managed. Featured reader Arnold Road arealso this edition’sfeatured reader!You can find outwhat they loveabout Zest below…
23 Get in touch
Hello everybody, I’m Elspeth from Arnold Road and I’m this issue’s featured reader. I love this magazine because it’s interesting and it’s good to look at everything that’s in it. It has some colourful pictures and different people in it. It also makes me very happy to see myself in it! Elspeth enjoying an issue of Zest
Growing together
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The list Our Waste Warrior has hidden ten words about environmentthe in the word search below, how many can you find? Find out more about Mission:Zero on Hive! hiv e Did you find them all? Let us know how you got on by emailing communications@voyagecare.com Waste Warrior Water WizlinesdottedthealongCut G V B A B F H Q T A A Y Z U A M C P P V C L I M A T E Q I V R H A A Q U X W A R R I O R K R A O W M S I C O M P O S T R C N A S Z Y F C B S A V E J D N Y N X B J L E F T O V E R S C Z I G F R E C Y C L E G B P F B T H F U B P Q T Z O U I G Y G F X I P L A S T I C Z M W X H Y C D C A H L K C K B K C Y N B L G W S Z Z F R N U K Z S A Z A W Y P O H P O L S K T X K H L A N D F I L L Z F Q H B W A N O M W A S T E E P D L D Q V G R E E N H O U S E K K RECYCLE WASTE LANDFILL COMPOST LEFTOVERS WARRIOR CLIMATE PLASTIC GREENHOUSE SAVE Word Search
