Hollin Meadows Elementary School Celebrates Earth Day

Elementary students and their parents flocked to Hollin Meadows 6th annual Earth Day celebration on Saturday. Volunteers worked on landscaping improvements and craft projects while other groups hosted the plant sale,  rummage sale and book sale portion of the mid-day event.

"It's community building and the school is the heart of the community. They can come for an hour or the whole day, but that way everyone can feel like they participated," teacher Jason Pittman said. "They step back and say, 'wow look at what we did' and are proud."

Students and families donated gently used clothing, toys and items for a rummage sale sponsoring the Care and Share Program, dedicated to helping students in need. Any items left over were donated to United Community Ministries.

"Earth Day is an annual thing and we build up on our projects each year. It's all about the kids,' event organizer Shawn Akard said, "Students and parents collected items for the sale. They brought in CD's for the reflective wall. They came today to mulch and work hard."

Mulching the grounds took up a majority of the day, but teachers and students found the time to put together a 'reflective light' wall made from recycle CD's. The art and science instillation will be used to study light waves and soon to be installed outdoor instruments will help students learn about sound waves, Pittman explained.

"We keep reinventing ourselves even though we already have a beautiful school. Each year we come together work hard and build something," vice principal Donna Beaver-Young said. "It's so easy to access. Everyone can walk away knowing they accomplished something."

In honor of Earth Day, students created globes at the craft table and painted their own personalized version of the world. Smokey the Bear was also on site to talk about wild fire prevention and answer questions from the students.

"This is about the environment. It's about building a community and building outside of the school walls," assistant principle Jean Consolla said. "This is what Hollin Meadows is all about."