ALBERTON – One area school marked Earth Day not by learning about it in a classroom, but by living it, taking to the streets and viewing why the day is so important.

Alberton Public Schools celebrated Earth Day district wide on April 22, as high school students joined forces with the elementary school.

All freshmen, sophomores, juniors and seniors mentored younger elementary students for the day, taking them under their wing during the days festivities.

Earth Day started for Alberton with “The Earth is in Our Hands” art project. 

“Each student in Alberton decorated a hand. These were cut out and taped in the lunchroom around a large Earth,” said Hannah Anderson, physical education teacher for Alberton Public Schools, and event organizer. “Alberton has an Earth Day every year, but this was the first year it incorporated other activities other than picking up trash.”

Following the hand decoration, kids walked area streets to pick up trash in their community, and some were transported by school bus to locations around Alberton that were not within walking distance.

Even though the weather was unsettling, windy and cool with isolated rain, the trash pickup went off without a hitch. Each younger student walked with their high school mentor, some hand-in-hand armed with purple latex gloves, and an industrial size garbage bag.

Kids were able to hit the local neighborhoods around the school. There was a sense of excitement when debris including paper, cardboard boxes, and wrappers was spotted within area yards, ditches and roads. They scoured areas behind the track, fields and wooded areas as well.

Doing a big loop, the kids circled around, not before going back in the same direction. 

After students did their part cleaning up trash, they warmed up in the cafeteria over a hot lunch. Sadly, it is then the elementary students parted ways with their high school mentors. However, the elementary school capped off the Earth Day celebration with the remainder of the afternoon being dedicated to a field day. 

Kindergarten through fourth graders had the opportunity to relax after a hard days work with a presentation of The Lorax. While watching the movie, students made posters in addition to their handprints they created earlier in the day.

“The event went great and it was a huge success due to the teachers and staff,” Anderson said. “As for next year, hopefully Earth Day will continue to grow and expand.” 

Both teachers and students participated in the worldwide event, learning together about issues like pollution and global warming. This national day of learning aims at educating children at a young age in hopes of curbing pollution and other behaviors that negatively impact the livelihood of the planet.

The first Earth Day was on April 22, 1970 and included 20 million Americans, according to the Earth Day Network, a worldwide environmental advocacy group. Today, more than 1 billion people participate on this day every year, making it the largest civic observance in the world. In every country, schools participate in educational, civic and outdoor programs teaching themselves the importance of clean air and water, along with volunteer opportunities in their communities.