Story Behind The Garbage Truck Artwork At Vienna Parade

VIENNA, VA—If you were at the Vienna Halloween Parade on Wednesday, Oct. 24, you might have seen a Town of Vienna garbage truck decked out with artwork. What you might not know is that Vienna elementary schools were behind the effort.

Louise Archer Elementary fourth grader Jeremy Huang and Marshall Road Elementary third grader Reese Leviyang designed the artwork on one of the Town's trash and recycling trucks. In all, 180 students at the two elementary schools partook in an educational experience to "turn a trash truck into a public advertisement that advocates for increased recycling." The educational initiative, a partnership in the Madison school pyramid, seeks to make a connection between classroom learning and real-world applications.

"Students applied their knowledge of our planet and the environment and their creative and critical thinking skills to their designs to encourage better care of the earth," said Louise Archer Elementary third grade teacher Jo Ann Smith. "Students were able to apply their learning in an authentic way, which is the focus and heart of project-based learning. Being able to connect with real life in their community has impressed and influenced them in a way that they will not forget."

The Town had one of its trucks "wrapped" with large vinyl decals of Huang’s drawing featuring environmentally conscious worms on one side and Leviyang’s of a rainforest on the other. The truck made its debut at the Vienna Halloween Parade.

Leviyang, 9, says he’s "really excited" and "happy" to have his rainforest drawing on the truck because it was a lot of hard work, requiring a great deal of detail and reworking. "You should recycle basically to make the world more beautiful," Leviyang says about the meaning behind the work.

Huang, 9, was nervous about seeing the artwork showed off around Vienna but enjoyed being part of the project. "I liked how it involved learning and art at the same time because I like drawing as you can probably tell," he said.

Marshall Road Principal Jennifer Heiges said that the project "caused students to think deeply about both recycling and their community. Students were very engaged and excited. They would come in each day and ask when it was time for their trash truck activity."

The truck with the students’ artwork will be used daily on the Town’s sanitation routes to collect trash and recyclable materials.

(If you missed the parade, see a full video below.)

First photo: artwork by Huang; second photo: artwork by Leviyang, courtesy Town of Vienna