This month the Botelle Eagles are “Celebrating All and Creating Community” by learning about the importance of protecting the planet and ways they can have an effect.
Monday, the students viewed the solar eclipse and on Monday, April 22, they will partner with local organizations to make their Earth Day celebration an interactive community event. Great Mountain Forest will take students on a guided hike behind the school and Northwestern students and staff, with help from the Norfolk Farmers Market representatives, will teach students about gardening and help students plant seeds for a salsa garden.
Norfolk Library children’s librarian Eileen Fitzgibbons will read an Earth Day picture book and complete a craft with the students. School staff will lead other activities, such as making recycled instruments, painting kindness rocks, conducting a nature scavenger hunt and making a pinecone-and-peanut butter bird feeder.
Last October, when the Student Council was planning Unity Day, it wanted to plant a tree as a reminder of the importance of inclusion and acceptance. On Earth Day, at 11:30 a.m., students will plant a Unity Tree with the help of Consolini and Tonan, a Norfolk landscaping firm. Consolini and Tonan are donating a black gum tree, a native species that has bright orange leaves in the fall, to bring the students’ vision to fruition.