Earth Day in Long Island
Long Island school observes Earth Day year-round
First Graders at Our Lady of the Hamptons in Southhampton, New York, show Kid Reporter Jacqueline Minogue the recycling bins they are placing in classrooms. (Photo courtesy Jacqueline Minogue)
Earth Day is a big deal at my school, Our Lady of the Hamptons (“OLH”) in Southampton, New York. Even the youngest students are doing what they can to help.
Teachers Jennifer Campbell and Katelyn Brady, organized this year’s Earth Day activities, which include paper and electronics recycling, and flower planting.
“We should protect and celebrate our Earth that we live on because it is a beautiful creation that we need in order to survive,” said Brady. The teachers helped each student make a pledge explaining how they would help the Earth during April.
At OLH, fourth-graders are collecting broken or unused electronics for recycling. Along with third-grade students, they are also working on a habitat-restoration project. Students planted grass and sunflower seeds in milk cartons. The plants will be transferred to school grounds once they become strong.
First-graders are working on a paper-recycling program. Students put recycle bins in each classroom to collect used paper. After they collect the bins full of paper, the students are going to make recycled paper. They will make a mural from the recycled paper. The mural will be hung in the Children’s Museum of the East End in Bridgehampton, New York.
“We hope we can encourage the kids to recycle all year round and that we have brought awareness to future generations,” Campbell told Scholastic News Online.
Earth Day education continues
My school is not the only organization in my community learning how to save the planet. The Children’s Museum of the East End (CMEE) is sponsoring a weeklong spring break program in celebration of Earth Day.
Jacqui Leader, the programming director of CMEE, said she expects about 30 children to participate. Activities will include making clay bird-baths, flower batik wall hangings, worm compost terrariums, mosaic garden tiles, and more.
Earth Day at CMEE continues all year long, Leader said. The museum will sponsor a program called “Kids Create!! Get Down to Earth,” on June 7. The theme is being green, and the goal is to educate the children on the “four “R’s”: Reduce, Reuse, Recycle and Rethink.”
The Earth Day art mural made by the students at OLH will go on display June 7, along with artwork and science projects from almost every school on the East End of Long Island. About 600 children will participate in this program.
“[We hope] the children will walk away with a sense of ownership and that they will want to take care of their Earth,” Leader said. “They should be proud that they have done something to celebrate the Earth and learn more about how to protect the environment.”
Celebrate Earth Day with Scholastic News Online! Learn more about how you can help take care of our planet in this special report.
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Jacqueline Minogue is a member of the Scholastic Kids Press Corps.
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