GAINFIELD ELEMENTARY SCHOOL STUDENTS CELEBRATE 34^th ANNIVERSARY OF EARTH DAY

Students Help Save Earth and Rain forests with Two Local Projects

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    With the cooperation of a local supermarket, the students at Gainfield Elementary School are helping save the Earth and the rain forest one shopping bag, aluminum can, and plastic bottle at a time. The 34^th anniversary of Earth Day is April 22, 2004 and signals the culmination of the two school projects.

   On April 8^th, the students in Trish Di Muzio’s class used crayons to decorate brown shopping bags from the Southbury Food Center with Earth Day messages and illustrations. Ms. Di Muzio brought the bags to the Food Center on Main Street South on April 21^st. The clerks then used them to bag groceries on Earth Day (April 22) in order to get people to think about their way of living and change behaviors that may contribute to harming the Earth.

    “We hope that people will see the messages written by the students and choose to reduce, reuse, and recycle whenever possible,” said Ms. Di Muzio. “The people in our neighborhood will get a very clear and positive message that these young people care about their environment.”

    Down the hall in Kerri Grieder’s classroom, students have been collecting cans and bottles since April 5^th to help raise awareness and funds to buy as many acres of the rainforest as possible. Each bag of 500 bottles and cans will help save one-fourth of an acre of rainforest. Students from all grades at Gainfield Elementary School have been donating daily to the cause. Also on April 22^nd, a group of students were at the Southbury Food Center to collect refundable cans and bottles.

    Since April 22, 1970, Earth Day has been an annual event for people around the world to celebrate the Earth and our responsibility toward it.

    “Friendships are very important to children,” said Ms. Di Muzio. “We’ve been learning about how to be a good friend to Earth, and how it is important for each one of us to do our part in keeping her a clean and happy place for all living things. These projects are two ways in which the students at Gainfield Elementary School can help get the message out to the community.”