Students at Shearn Elementary School were paid a visit from Clutch, the mascot for the NBA Houston Rockets, as part of a fun and educational program that teaches kids about recycling.

The show, “Red Nation Goes Green: Reduce, Reuse, Recycle” is a partnership between HISD and the Houston Rockets to help increase the district’s awareness of recycling, along with the importance of education.

According to the Houston Rockets, Clutch the Rockets Bear and his companion, Rocket Ranger, have performed at 150 schools and in front of more than 100,000 students, teachers, and administrators this year.

Thanks to a solid waste reduction grant by the Houston-Galveston Area Council and the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality, the program has hosted shows throughout 22 HISD elementary schools.

Shearn Principal Clifford Buck says the program really motivated and engaged his students about the importance of recycling on a regular basis.

“It’s all about reducing, reusing and recycling, and the more we can get the Rockets and community engaged, it will always be good,” Buck said.

Since the start of the school year, HISD Construction and Facilities Services has used the grant to provide recycling packages and resources to each school within the district.

Kim Urban, HISD accounting manager in Construction and Facilities Services, said such educational programs are important because they engage students at a young age to want a brighter future.

“This is where it starts,” Urban said. “The students are interested and really excited, and if we get them started early, it will become a normal, everyday way of life for them.”