Massapequa Elementary Schoolers Think Big For Earth Day

MASSAPEQUA, NY — As Earth Day fast approaches, Long Islanders from all corners of Nassau and Suffolk are being reminded of small ways they can limit their impact on the environment: switching out that plastic water bottle for a reusable one, turning the thermostat down a couple of degrees in the winter abound! But for first graders at Massapequa’s elementary schools, district officials said Earth Day has become a lesson of its own, with students brainstorming how they can live more sustainably.

At Birch Lane Elementary, Emma Fountain’s class brainstormed ways they could make a difference, including biking or walking instead of driving to get somewhere, planting a tree, recycling and using less water. At McKenna Elementary, there was a “Sustainable Sounds” assembly, presented by Bash the Trash, which taught students how they could reuse products to make their own musical instruments.

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What happened after the brainstorming and the assembly? The students got creative. Birch Lane students made watercolor paintings of the Earth, then wrote on paper hearts three ways they could do their part to keep the planet healthy. For McKenna students, the lesson about homemade instruments was one several students took home, making their own kind of instruments at home and bringing them into school to share.

District officials didn’t say if the homemade instruments would be added to Massapequa orchestras or bands, but said the Massapequa youngsters are “becoming leaders when it comes to protecting the planet.”