In the season of giving and sharing, a non-profit environmental group is demonstrating to residents that recycling and energy conservation can be part of Christmas sparkle and charm.

The Windward Ahupua'a Alliance's message is part of this year's Honolulu City Lights at Honolulu Hale.

The group's theme: "recycle, reclaim, reuse and reduce" is reflected throughout its display, said Jim Wood, a founding member of the alliance.

"The idea is you don't have to spend a ton of money doing Christmas, that you can be creative." Wood said.

The exhibit includes a house made of recycled steel, filled with gently used stuffed animals and decorated with aluminum cans cut into spirals. Three lighting systems in the display — solar, LED and fluorescent — use a reduced amount of power, he said. Instead of killing a tree, the group has strung lights on a live kukui nut tree and red gingers. After the holidays, alliance members will plant them in a small park on Kapa'a Quarry Road, Wood said.

The fence is decorated with a lei of bottle caps, painted and sprinkled with glitter. And there are dozens of compact discs transformed into ornaments by students from Heald College.

"One thing that gets a lot of attention is a basketball hoop hung over a cycle bin," Wood said. "People are invited to toss their cans and bottles into the hoop and if we're around, we'll give them a Bust-A-Dumper bumper sticker for trying."

According to security guards, the display is popular with teachers escorting youngsters through City Lights. They use the display to hold impromptu discussions about recycling in general, Wood said.

"We're studying problems of waste and landfills, recycling and reusing, so it fit in perfectly," Shawhan said, noting that several students conducted decorative recycling research and contributed creative ideas. While some students constructed the display's scenery, others fashioned ornaments using papier-mache, plastic shopping bags, CDs, aluminum cans, can tops and credit cards.

They made bows out of shopping bags, sundials from can tops and mini chandeliers from CDs, said Christy Johnson, one of Shawhan's students. The most interesting ornament, Johnson said, was made of credit cards. The cards were cut, covered with glitter and hung with a ribbon. Simple and easy enough for a child to make, she said.

Johnson said the project was challenging, but the class was able to use just about everything they brought to a class workshop. In the process, she said, the class also reinforced what they are learning.

"It's given us awareness as to how much we waste on a daily basis," she said.