Students Honor Earth Day

Every year on April 22, Earth Day marks the anniversary of the birth of the modern environmental movement. In honor of Earth Day, the student body at Turner Public Schools went out as a group and picked up litter on May 4.

School Librarian and Kindergarten Teacher, Mrs. Shelly Harmon organized the students into grade band groups and assigned each to an area in Turner-from the train depot to the park to Hogeland Road.

Wearing gloves and carrying their trash bags, the crew collected debris, not only to beautify the town but as an investment in the planet. Student Body President Charlie Calvert rode the perimeter of town with Head Cook Anne Hance to pick up filled bags and bigger items. Once the group finished, they returned to the school for Otter Pops.

The first Earth Day was celebrated in 1970, when United States Senator Gaylord Nelson organized a national demonstration to raise awareness about environmental issues. Nelson had long been concerned about the deteriorating environment. His concern spread, and rallies took place across the country. By the end of the year, the U.S. government had created the Environmental Protection Agency. By 1990, Earth Day was an event celebrated by more than 140 countries around the globe.

Today, Earth Day is widely recognized as the largest secular observance in the world. Marked by more than a billion people every year as a day of action, Earth Day intends to change human behavior and to create global, national, and local policy changes that will protect the planet.