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By GLEN WERLING
Giving students the opportunity to give back to the school through pride and ownership is the idea behind Environmental Day at Southern Wells Elementary School.
Fifty-five fifth grade students and 20 adult helpers spent the day in early May sprucing up the grounds around the school. Activities included edging the areas around the trees and plantings before mulching, raking up the old mulch, some weeding, adding new mulch around trees, shrubs and flowers, digging around trees to make a wider area for mulch and picking up litter.
It is the one time of year when children are actually encouraged to wear old clothes to school. They were also asked to bring work gloves. Some tools were provided by the school but parents were also asked to provide four-wheeled all-terrain vehicles with wagons or trailers, a dump truck, shovels, hoes, rakes, a lawn roller, a wheel barrow and a fertilizer spreader.
Nature was cooperative on the final need—good weather. Although an encroaching warm front caused showers and thunderstorms to spread over much of the northern part of the county on that Friday, May 2, Southern Wells was spared much of the rain until late afternoon. Although the morning activity was delayed briefly because of nearby lightning activity from the storms. The rest of the day the kids labored under mainly hazy sunshine.
The activity is spearheaded by fifth grade teacher Joan Nusbaumer with assistance from fellow fifth grade teacher Bob Pace and other members of the Southern Wells staff, including Principal Brett Garrett. Environmental Working Day has become a time-honored tradition at Southern Wells. “It’s a great learning experience as the students work hand-in-hand with one another, their parents and nature,” said Nusbaumer.
Plus it teaches children how to use tools. “Some of these kids have never touched a shovel before today,” she mused.
The efforts not only make Southern Wells nicer for the students but it makes the school a nice place for the community. Southern Wells is located in a very rural area and the school complex is a focal point of the community. Nusbaumer said the school corporation has received requests from the community to rent the courtyard area between the two south wings of the elementary school for social functions.
The courtyard also functions as an outdoor learning lab. While doing the sprucing up, the students came across a robin’s egg and a baby rabbit. The discoveries gave Nusbaumer and Pace the opportunity to teach the children about the
“Our activity here today makes this courtyard a nice place top sit and enjoy nature,” said Nusbaumer.
She added that the students also get as feeling of satisfaction when they get to turn something that has been roughed up a little by the harsh winter weather into something beautiful again for spring.
The annual event is funded by a $3,000 grant from Southern Wells Partners in Education.
“We’re teaching the children that we all are the stewards of the environment. It’s just amazing that with a little instruction and encouragement what they can accomplish,” said Nusbaumer.