When Tricia Elisara of Julian assembled a kit of reusable cups and dishes for her son Ethan's third-grade class to use for parties and food-related events, she said, the last thing she expected was to win $20,000 and be profiled in National Geographic magazine.

Elisara was one of five winners across the United States in the "Green Effect," an event cosponsored by SunChips food brands and National Geographic, which asked people to submit ideas to help their neighborhood go green.

"It was just a small idea for change that I thought could be a good way to improve things," she said. "It's very inspiring that it would be recognized and have some sort of resonance with people."

Elisara explained that shortly after the older of her two sons started kindergarten at Julian Elementary School, it became clear to her that she would be bringing food to many parties and special occasions. Other parents and teachers, she observed, typically brought disposable cups, plates and utensils to all of the food-related activities, which started Elisara thinking about all of the trash created as a result.

Four years later, she created the "Green Party Kit." Designed to be used for any occasion, the kit includes a complete set of dishes, cups and utensils that can be washed and then stored in a rolling carrying case for reuse.

"When you think about all of the food-related events that go on in every classroom in every school around the country, that's a tremendous amount of trash," she said. "This idea has the potential to have many far-reaching advantages."

Elisara asserted that the goal of her approach is to get people thinking about the hidden costs associated with a "single-use lifestyle."

Marisa McFedries, a substitute teacher and member of the Parent Teacher Organization at Julian Elementary School, said that although the Green Party Kit is a simple idea, it has had a tremendous impact on more than just trash.

"It's been a catalyst for creating a movement towards going green at our school," she said. "Suddenly, everything just started to move in that direction."

McFedries pointed out that more people have recently expressed an interest in the school's garden and that students have started collecting paper in an effort to measure how much of it is being wasted when people use computers.

Additionally, a new composting initiative has been developed that has already started to show dividends, said McFedries.

"This is a tiny little school located all the way up in the mountains that is sometimes disconnected, but we're doing really big things up here," she said.

Kevin Ogden, superintendent of the school district, said the idea was one in a long line of projects put together by a dedicated group of parents. He said there is a core group of people that have dreams and rather than talking about them, they make them happen.

"When I opened the November issue of National Geographic and saw the article, I really thought it symbolized a bigger goal that we have here," said Ogden. "We want kids to dream big, and I think this validates for them that you can have big dreams and you can make them come true."