Dana Bowen Cummings '99 Working to Improve the Environment, One Person at a Time

October 18, 2005

October 18, 2005, Greencastle, Ind. - "Down the hallway of a local elementary school she makes her way, a child-sized wagon crafted from recycled materials in tow. Bearing her load of colorful posters, puppets and a big blue tub filled with slithering worms, little heads turn when Dana Cummings walks into the classroom," begins an article in Greencastle's Banner-Graphic on the 1999 DePauw University graduate who is the education specialist for the West Central Solid Waste District. "But anyone who listens to her message soon learns that beyond the exciting demonstrations and the prizes she gives for good listening skills, an important lesson remains. 'Reduce, reuse, recycle and rethink,' she quotes to the children. 'These are the 'Four R's' of recycling.'"

Dana Bowen Cummings "didn't grow up thinking she would teach elementary students about recycling," Adam Coates writes. "She graduated from DePauw University with a degree in anthropology and later received her master's degree in public affairs from Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis. She said her interest in the environment took a different turn when after she and her husband Paul [DePauw 2002] visited an 'eco-friendly' house in Taos, N.M. Her visit to the so-called 'Earthship' made her realize she could do more to help maintain and protect the environment."

"It's something that I do in my personal life," Cummings tells the newspaper. "And I'm learning as I go." The story details her work with children and adults. The WCSWD is a four-county recycling district providing services to Putnam, Parke, Montgomery and Morgan counties.

Read the complete text at the newspaper's Web site.

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