Schools throughout Montclair celebrated Earth Day. We check in with these Montclair Public Schools – Charles H. Bullock, Edgemont School, Watchung Elementary School and Bradford Elementary School – as well as Lacordaire Academy.
Bradford Elementary
Bradford Elementary held an Earth Day celebration on Friday. Students had the opportunity to immerse themselves in a range of interactive stations celebrating the diverse elements of the planet including painting an Earth Day mural, creating “garbage art,” meeting with local community groups and more.
Additionally, students each took a turn “planting” a brand-new red maple tree on the school’s front lawn.
Watchung School
Students at Watchung took part in a “Food Waste Audit,” on Earth Day. They investigated the materials that get thrown away in the cafeteria each day. At the end of each grade’s lunch on Monday, students sorted their food waste into categories with the help of volunteers. The students sorted and weighed the bins. To introduce the theme, STEAM teacher Drury Thorp taught the students about food waste. To help reinforce these lessons, Watchung will move toward Waste-Free Wednesdays in the future.
Edgemont School
Representatives from Java Compost spoke with students at Edgemont in preparation for the school’s composting launch on Earth Day. With support from the Montclair Fund for Educational Excellence, students have been working closely with Java Compost to learn not only how to compost while at school, but also at home.
Charles H. Bullock
Charles H. Bullock School is no stranger to celebrating Earth Day. As the District’s Environmental Science magnet-themed elementary school, students and staff reuse, repurpose, and recycle, and learn about the impact of climate change and how they can help. However, during Earth Week and Earth Day, students and staff participated in special activities. For example, third graders made environmental-themed “stepping stones” for Bullock’s garden.
“The garden is being transformed into a true outdoor classroom, where students will explore the lifecycle of plants and specifically how they are nurtured,” said Bullock’s Jennifer Woschinko, who teaches environmental science. “The beautiful stepping stones will provide a path for students to access the plants while keeping their environment safe.”
Lacordaire Academy
Students at Lacordaire Academy spent the day creating eco-friendly posters. One first grader’s sign read “We don’t like pollution.” Students in fifth through 12th grade played interactive games and learned how plastic can harm wildlife. Students were encouraged to come up with creative ways to reuse plastic.
Lacordaire students ended the day with a parade down Park Street wielding their posters encouraging onlookers to take care of the earth.
“Our Earth day event extended the work our school has done on the composting initiative we started this year,” said senior Amber Greene. “But the key focus of this event was on reducing our plastic consumption. To be able to educate [students] on what can be recycled, as well as why it is not as beneficial as people may think, is a first step in reducing one’s carbon footprint.”
