GUEST SPEAKER SERIES

On Thursday, October 16, 2025, nearly two dozen Talley students, parents and faculty, as well as community members attended a guest speaker session hosted by the Green Team and Talley's Best Buddies. Joyful Jarra owner Veronica Apecena shared how her business was inspired by a friend with developmental disabilities, emphasizing the need for inclusive work environments. She led discussions on plastic waste and how small behavioral changes can have a positive impact on the environment. The event concluded with a visit to her mobile refillery, where she showcased eco-friendly products and offered reusable container demonstrations and samples. 

On Tuesday, November 18, 2025, the Green Team welcomed Atlanta-based composer and percussionist Chris Childs, who makes musical shakers that incorporate recycled plastic bottle caps. Chris discussed the inspiration for his creations, demonstrated how he makes and uses his instruments, and led students in making some music. Over several weeks prior to the event, Talley students gathered loose bottle caps of all sizes to donate to Chris for use in making more instruments. We will continue to gather caps for Chris to use!

For our December 2025 guest speaker, the Green Team hosted Emma Dufrense, Program Director with LiveThrive, who educated us about the Center for Hard to Recycle Materials (CHaRM)..it's origins, the items that currently can be brought there and how CHaRM has grown. For example, in the 10 years since CHaRM's founding, the amount of recycled material processed has grown from 150,000 pounds to approximately 6 million pounds, and Green Team is proud to be a contributor to that each month.

Students were particularly impressed with the stryofoam building block, made of compressed material and used in actual construction projects.