Local school children and a chapter of an international organization devoted
to teaching children about nature are using creativity to seek solutions for
shrinking wildlife habitat and to find ways to personally slow the accelerating
climate change.

This week, Gorman School’s kindergarten through 2nd grade will be planting a
flower garden. Teachers have donated the flowers for the children to plant.
Lion’s Daycare’s Earth Day project includes ‘color the earth,’ and talk about
the environment. Each child decorates a paper bag and is sent outdoors to
collect trash and then discuss what is trash and what isn’t.

Pine Mountain Learning Center, a charter school of the El Tejon District
located on the lower slopes of Cerro Noroeste (Mount Abel), often explores ‘our
great natural environment right at the school,’ staff said, adding, “on Fridays
during April, our Nature Buddies are having a great time with community
volunteers who are experts in many aspects of the fascinating life on our piece
of planet Earth.”

Wildlife Biologist Kim Matthews is teaching students about native animals.
Mary Ann Lockhart, co-creator of the native plant garden in Pine Mountain, takes
classes out to identify native plants around PMLC. Environmental Biologist Lynn
Stafford is helping students explore what it means to be a wild bird.

On the home front, Diane Marshall, owner of The Tree Health Food Store in
Frazier Park, writes that if each household in the US replaces just one roll of
70-sheet virgin paper towels with a roll of 100% recycled paper towels, 544,000
trees will be saved.

Watch for her Opinion essay next week.

This is part of the April 20, 2007 online edition of The Mountain Enterprise.

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