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Students learn how to make every day Earth Day

Renee Shadforth
Photo by Colin FisherGlenshire Elementary students showed off their man-powered floats in an Earth Day parade on Tuesday.
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In classrooms around Truckee, students learned the importance of taking care of their planet and community every day of the year in Earth Day activities.

At Donner Trail Elementary School students worked on their semester-long project growing native grasses along the Yuba River.

“There was a diesel spill there many years ago,” said teacher Michelle Reed. “Now the soil is sterile. We’re trying to restore the environment.”



The kindergarten through fifth graders learned about erosion and the depletion of microorganisms due to the spill. They’re also illustrating a book to teach other children about the project.

“When we plant the grass out by the river, the animals will eat them,” first-grader Mackenzie Redner said. “I think it will help the animals.”



The kindergarteners learned different ways to help the planet and they drew pictures of the Earth.

“It’s teaching me about the Earth and to take care of the roads and take care of my house,” Jake Hamilton said.

At Prosser Creek Charter School students were learning how to take care of their immediate environment with Project Prosser, part of an ongoing beautification plan for the campus.

Janice Conover’s third- through eighth0grade home school and independent study class is growing native squirrel grass, creating a bird habitat for migratory birds and putting moss around their pond.

In art class, seventh and eighth graders looked at the holiday on more of a global scale. Some students painted Earth Day images on a canvas, while others put their representations to paper.

Davis Souza drew a picture of the globe with an African hat on top.

“Africans have dealt with a lot from us, and this is my way of respecting them. They’ve put a lot into the world,” he said.

Kindergarten teacher Dianne Bouton asked her class to write about what they can do to help the Earth. Then she asked the students to draw a picture of it.

“I can pick up garbage around my house and plant flowers,” said kindergartner Luke Wahl, who drew a picture of himself planting flowers.

Perhaps the largest Earth Day festivities of all were at Glenshire Elementary School, where students took part in activities, like weeding and mulching their garden. Later in the afternoon, the students brought out their aluminum can-decorated bicycles for a recycle parade.

That evening, the school’s artists in residence held an art auction to raise money for art programs at Glenshire and Kings Beach elementary schools. The most popular items on the block were the quilts designed by the students and hand-quilted by artists nationwide.

One quilt, “Sea Colors,” designed by the students at Kings Beach Elementary School sold for $775.


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