LIIDLII KUE/FORT SIMPSON - Students at Thomas Simpson School (TSS) redoubled their efforts this year during NorthwesTel's annual Telephone Directory Recycling Program, collecting enough old books to net the school $750 - money that will fund future school trips.

The school was one of 14 in Fort Simpson, Hay River, Fort Smith, Yellowknife and Fort Providence that took part in this year's campaign.

Thomas Simpson School Grade 8 student Madison Pilling checks out this year's new NorthwesTel phone book by a stack of old 2009-2010 phone books collected by the school during this year's Telephone Directory Recycling Program organized by NorthwesTel. - Guy Quenneville/NNSL photo

Based on the school's population of 129 students, TSS was eligible to win either $200, $500 or $750 based on how many books the students amassed.

Thanks to a last-minute push, the school managed to reach the top category.

Last Thursday - the night before the contest closed - Madison Pilling and a group of other students collected a number of new phone books from the Northern Store, which they traded around town for old 2009-2010 editions.

"(We) figured that we weren't going to make it. We only needed about 30 more," said Pilling, who, along with fellow student Dakota Burrill, rallied this year's student effort.

"We drove around to the people that we knew and said, 'Do you have an old phone book?' If they just had an old one, we gave them a new one."

As Pilling discovered, some people get attached to their phone books - or at least the numbers in them, especially privately compiled lists.

"They just have to rip it out or whatever," said Pilling.

Principal Robert Byatt was impressed by the drive-by tactic, which resulted in the school collecting a total of 269 phone books - more than the required 258 needed to reach the emerald category and win $750.

"That was new this year. It was a good idea," he said.

Pilling said her family tries to recycle as much as it can.

"Here we don't recycle paper, but we do bottles," she said.

As an active member of TSS's sports community, she was happy to learn on Friday that the school had reached the top category.

"The money is going towards the school and athletics. I'm involved in a lot of athletics, but also, (I) just like to help out the school. It's something I do, volunteering."

While a concern for the environment is what ultimately drives the effort, students also enjoy the fruits of their labour, said Byatt.

"The primary thing is to avoid the phone books being put in the garbage and ending up in the landfill," he said.

"It's also an easy way for us to raise $750 for our school.

"We have teams participating in the Grande Prairie Soccer Tournament in a couple of weeks. There are (travel) fees involved with that.

"At the end of the year, a number of students will go to Hay River for NWT Track and Field. That's a very expensive trip for the buses over there."

Pilling is already mulling her strategy for next year's program.

"I think we'll put in place a scavenger hunt or something like that with student council," she said.