Earth Day celebration at Port Matilda Elementary

The Earth Day Celebration at Port Matilda Elementary was organized to provide students with tools to improve Earth and to emphasize the importance of recycling materials.

The students were involved in many different activities throughout the afternoon. Junior and senior students from the Bald Eagle Area High School helped K-5 students plant white spruce trees that were part of the Seedlings for Schools partnership program of the Pennsylvania Game Commission’s Howard Nursery and the Wildlife for Everyone Foundation. The high school students discussed the importance of trees to the environment before helping each student plant their own tree to take home. Centre Region Recycling and Refuse Authority’s Amy Schirf explained the importance of recycling by showing the different types of plastics, metals and cardboard to the students. A scavenger hunt introduced students to pollinators in the region, and objects that can be recycled. There was also an activity where students created wildflower seed pods to take home and plant.

Overall, the day was a success as students celebrated the Earth and learned a little more about being responsible caretakers for the environment.