The students and teachers from
R.V. Daniels Elementary celebrated the 40th Anniversary of Earth Day by hosting friends from Davey Tree Expert Company and Greenscape who joined the celebration by planting a flowering Crape Myrtle tree. They even enriched the soil around the tree using compost started by the students at this environmentally savvy school.
Second-grade teacher and organizer of the event, Susan Burns, is excited about the passion she sees from her students as they are learning about the environment. One of her favorite books, Miss Rumphius by Barbara Cooney, has been an inspiration to Burns and her family that has transcended into her classroom.
In the book, the title character, Miss Rumphius, thinks of ways she can make the world more beautiful, a question Burns has provoked her students with.
"Even as seven and eight year olds, these children can make the world more beautiful. Using kind words, being a friend, planting flowers -- Actions can take beauty in many ways," Burns said. "Students are very aware of the world around them and they understand how their decisions will have an effect on their classroom, school and community – like a ripple effect that keeps expanding."
When asked what they can do to make their planet more beautiful, students said things like save water by turning off the sink while brushing their teeth, don’t litter, plant trees and wildflowers, and don't cut down more trees, as well as reduce, reuse and recycle, one of their mottos.
The tree planting was the centerpiece of the school’s numerous Earth Day activities. The students made “Love Your Mother” globes, created Trash Man and Litterbugs eco-villains, designed environmental posters, and wrote letters to Mayor Peyton incorporating ideas about making Jacksonville even more beautiful.
This isn't the first time these students are lending their hands and hearts into saving our planet: R.V. Daniels was recognized by the Keep Jacksonville Beautiful Commission as its 2009 Elementary School Award winner; and The Weaver Foundation selected R.V. Daniels Elementary as one of only three schools districtwide to pilot the prestigious Rainforest Alliance curriculum, where students gain a global perspective about biodiversity and the importance of protecting natural resources.
On-going projects include organic gardening, campus beautification spearheaded by the Dads at Daniels (D.A.D.s) group, and Green Awareness through recycling.
For more pictures from the Earth Day celebration at R.V. Daniels, visit the
DCPS' flickr photostream.
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