Earth Day activities

Planting a tree, cleaning up the school grounds and community, learning respect for the environment, doing art work, and even a parade in Enderby raising awareness about the environment were all part of Earth Day activities in SD83 schools leading up to Earth Day on April 22.

Each student and staff member in SD83 received a conifer tree plug, along with care instructions, to take home and plant.

The tree plugs were donated by the Forest Nursery Association of British Columbia (FNABC) and arranged by Kalamalka Forestry Research Station.  They are “over runs” from seedlings grown by nurseries around B.C. for reforestation.

SD83 received 7,600 seedlings so every student and staff in SD83 could have a seedling to take home and plant. Organizers comment trees are a living symbol of many things, including stewardship of the land and hope for the future. There can never be too many trees!

Trees are amazing and do many things for the earth including cool the environment, give oxygen, reduce carbon dioxide, stabilize soil, and are a home for wildlife.

“We are calling it Trees for Hope because we believe that planting trees is one of the most effective ways individuals can help mitigate the effects of climate change and feel good about it. Over the years, I have never seen anyone not feel good about planting a tree,” adds Kim Fulton, who helped organized the Trees for Hope campaign.

Over at M.V. Beattie, artist Cathy Stubbington and friends helped students create 3D tree projects which turned into costumes. The students then met up with students from Shihiya school and paraded in downtown Enderby to bring attention to Earth Day.

At Silver Creek, the leadership students (S.T.A.R. Leadership Crew) organized all students into teams to complete some amazing projects and clean-up tasks. Silver Creek parents and guardians were also invited to join in! Students and staff worked on the school garden, cleaning up the school grounds, collecting rocks and sticks from the field to make it safer for the athletes and machines, and even tending to some litter on the adjacent community walkways. Students turned the garden beds, added manure and peat moss and raked everything in place. They also raked up pine cones, and picked up sticks and rocks from the field area.