Young Earthlings Have Their Say in Saving the Planet

Seventh-grade students from Marco F. Forster Middle School on Tuesday campaigned to save the rain forests, protect endangered species and stop global warming.

Hundreds of cardboard boxes festooned with environmental messages, paint and other paraphernalia lined the campus courtyard as more than 600 students participated in the fourth annual Planet Earth Day fair.

Students passed out fliers and asked for signatures on petitions and support for their causes, which ranged from population control and saving the California condor to water conservation and opposition to smoking.

“It teaches a lot of people to not do bad things,” Adrian Ortega, 12, said standing outside his protect-the-gorillas booth.

Science teacher and event organizer Elizabeth Baron said work for the fair began in January when students chose their partners and environmental issues.

Since then, students have written 10-page reports on their issues, talked with organizations involved in their topics, built their booths and created posters and fliers, some of which are bilingual.

She said this year was the first time the entire seventh-grade class participated.

“The students really enjoy it,” Baron said. “The thing they learn the most is that they can really make a difference no matter what their age.”

Sixth- and eighth-grade students from Marco as well as students from neighboring Harold Ambuehl Elementary School also had the opportunity to tour the fair and be introduced to a variety of environmental issues.

“I learned a lot,” second-grader Charlotte Dunne said. “I’m glad I got to come out here because you can save the earth and animals.”

For the students who wrote the reports and painted the old refrigerator boxes, the fair was the culmination of several months of research, discovery and a lot of hard work.

“It was fun,” said Allegra Murray, 13. “We feel like we’re making a difference.”