Earth Day is Celebrated at UC Clermont College

UC Clermont College played host to 178 second-grade students from Batavia Elementary to celebrate Earth Day.

Earth Day celebrations included: Earth Day Fair with nonprofit and student booths, demonstrations and fun activities; 2 Cincinnati Zoo bird shows; tree seedling give-away and the planting of the 2012 Community Garden.

Each child received an Earth Day t-shirt, back pack, various giveaways and a tree seedling to plant at home. Thanks to the generosity of a faculty member and Wal-Mart, two fortunate students received new bikes and helmets.

"This is the second year that we’ve been invited to UC Clermont College for this event. We are thrilled to be here and it’s great for our students to learn about being good stewards of our earth,” said Molly Cribbett, assistant principal of Batavia Elementary.

“Helping the earth and saving it by recycling is what I learned today,” said second-grader Haley Griffin. “This is the earth we live on and there is only one of it,” she added. 

“I learned that we have to do things to help keep the earth healthy, like not throw pop cans on the ground,” said Shane Cooper, also a second-grader at Batavia Elementary.    

For the third year, Clermont College will plant their Community Garden which grows food to benefit local food banks. Earth Day volunteers helped to set up new raised beds, made from recycled tires, and prepped the garden for planting this year’s crop. Last year’s garden produced more than a ton of vegetables and fruits. The 2011 harvest included squash, zucchini, tomatoes, eggplant, corn, peppers, basil, cucumbers, pumpkins and watermelons.

Students in three UC Clermont biology courses helped to start the warm weather crop seedlings, weed the perennial plants in the garden, and prep the raised beds for this year’s crop. Students will continue to maintain the garden throughout the rest of the spring and summer months. 

“Students love getting outside and being active during their classes. I have heard many of the students comment that the hard work is worth it because they know the effort they put into this project directly affects members of their community,” said Chris Green, assistant professor of biology. All of the harvest goes to area food pantries each year which teaches college students first-hand about the intersection of the environment and hunger alleviation,” said Green.

“Despite the cool, windy weather, the event was very popular and successful. I hope that Clermont College continues this tradition for years to come,” said Barbara Wallace, director, College Success Program and Service Learning.

Special thanks to student clubs who organized and volunteered and the community organizations that participated including: Clermont CAN, the Clermont Office of Environmental Quality, the Clermont County Park District, Raptor, Inc. and Cool Critters Outreach.