Sustainability, education and more than a little bit of fun all came together for us recently at Ilanot School in Herzliya, Israel.

Some of my 3M Israel colleagues and I got to task students there with a mission: Use recyclable items (like bottles or other containers) to create festive and traditional Hanukkah elements. Our office “Green Team” is a cross-functional, voluntary group of 3Mers focused on sustainability issues.

We contributed 3M washi tape to help make the decorations come alive and a few examples to help inspire the students. But the creativity that put it to good use? That all came from the kids.

Students at all grade levels were interested in joining in on the activity with us and learned a lot about how sometimes all it takes is a little creative thinking – and brightly colored tape – to turn trash into something beautiful.