Cold Spring School launched its first Book Exchange on Friday.

The event was organized by the Parent Club’s Green Team, a recently formed committee dedicated to making the Cold Spring School’s campus and activities more environmentally thoughtful. The Book Exchange encouraged students to reuse and recycle their books by sharing them with classmates and supplied new books for summer reading. Students, families and teachers supported the exchange with great enthusiasm. More than 1,500 books were donated to the exchange by Cold Spring families.

Students took home as many books as they donated. More than two thirds of the students contributed books to the exchange, with many bringing in several dozen books. Books were collected over several days, organized by reading level and placed in recycled boxes for easy viewing.

The Book Exchange was held in an enclosed outdoor patio on Cold Spring’s campus, thus further enforcing our connection with nature and the environment.

Students visited the book exchange by grade level with their teachers to select new books. Thanks to the generous donation of books all interested Cold Springs students were able to go home with at least one book, and others returned home with many more. The remaining books will be donated to Cold Spring’s classrooms and local nonprofit organizations, including Storyteller Children’s Center.

The Book Exchange was an excellent way to encourage students to practice “Reuse, Reduce, Recycle” and for the school to make a donation to the community. Feedback about the event from students, parents and teachers was overwhelmingly positive. Such a simple, affordable event made a big impact on the school. The Parent Club is encouraged to repeat the Book Exchange next year.

— Karen Gibbs Rucker represents Cold Spring School.