'Destination Conservation' Earth Day Festival Planned

Barnesville School of Arts & Sciences seventh graders are planning the school’s third annual Earth Day Festival. “Destination Conservation” will take place on campus on April 20, 2018.
In 2016, Barnesville faculty and naturalists from Black Hill Regional Park teamed up to create a Flying WILD Festival, an entire day of fun outdoor and environmental education activities related to birds, their habitats, and their migration. The day was the culmination of six months of bird-related nature lessons. In 2017, Barnesville seventh graders planned a similar Earth Day festival centered on plants and gardening. This year’s seventh graders have been meeting with Black Hill naturalists to plan this year’s event.
Students brainstormed ideas for a theme and then worked in groups to develop their ideas and plan. After groups presented their ideas, the class voted and selected a “destination conservation” theme centered around the 3 R’s -- reduce, reuse, recycle.
Students were then placed in groups to create interactive and educational activity stations for the Earth Day festival. They outlined a general schedule for the day, including a guest speaker who will speak about orangutans.
Next, they will work with the school’s new Middle School science teacher and Earth Day Committee to continue to flesh out the schedule, plan and prepare for the activities. Some of the activities include:

• Building the Barnesville Bear mascot our of recycled materials;
• using pizza boxes to make a solar oven to make s’mores;
• making accessories from recycled items;
• learning about tiny houses; and
• a food waste relay.

The seventh graders will be responsible for setting up and running the activity stations at the festival April 20.

Barnesville School of Arts & Sciences is an independent private school in Montgomery County, Maryland offering innovative preschool through 8th grade programs. Cross-curricular teaching encourages students to explore how subjects relate to one another, helping them to make connections that spark inquiry and deepen understanding. Small classes enable skilled teachers to engage each child in an academically challenging environment. Our 30-acre campus is our extended classroom, and we integrate nature into everyday learning. Barnesville is certified as a Maryland Green School by the Maryland Association for Environmental and Outdoor Education, demonstrating achievement in curriculum and instruction, community partnerships, and best management practices.