Celebrating Earth Day & Green School Certification

It was a beautiful spring day full of sunshine and just a light breeze!  Students were buzzing with Earth Day excitement!

The day, planned by Ms. Miller and our Student Council, our Middle School Science Teacher, was a rotation of service-learning and outdoor activities. 

Students participated in service-learning activities that included caring for our butterfly garden and planting new trees in Jeri's Garden.  In the butterfly garden, students worked to collect logs and sticks to make a protective border, clear weeds & debris, and plant new flowers.  Working together, students dug holes near Jeri's Garden to plant new trees.  Digging the holes was hard work and gave students a hands-on appreciation for the effort needed to care for our Earth!

Student Council members presented our Terracycling initiative to Lower School Students.  Terracycling is an innovative company working to "eliminate the idea of waste". They have developed the world's first solutions in everything from recycling to reuse.  We are proud to implement Terracycling initiatives at Barnesville School!

Middle School students had the opportunity to learn from Dr. Ian Brauner, the Science Department Chair at Saint James School in Hagerstown, MD.  Dr. Brauner is a skilled educator with a passion for sharing about Climate Change.  Dr. Brauner also shared his experiences living in New Orleans during Hurricane Katrina.

Supporting our earth can sometimes mean getting dirty and students did just that at the Seed Bombs and Seedling stations.  At the Seed Bombs activity students mixed soil, clay powder, seeds, and water to make wildflower seed bombs.  Students also recycled egg cartons by using them as planters for soil and four different types of crop seeds.

Additional fun included a challenging nature scavenger hunt complete with a hunt for a four-leaf clover, Earth Day chalk drawings on the front entryway of campus, a competitive recycling relay, and weeding the class garden beds.

The day culminated with a school-wide gathering to share Environmental Pledges.  Aligning with our character word of the month, "Responsibility," each class created a pledge of responsibility to our earth.  Each class designated speakers to share the Environmental Pledge with the full student body.

After school, we received the most JOYful news of all, Barnesville School of Arts & Sciences achieved our Sustainable Green School status through the Maryland Association for Environmental and Outdoor Education!