HCS Green Team Making an Impact on Planet Earth
More than 40 H.C. Storm elementary school students in grades 1-5 are part of the school’s Green Team.
The Green Team meets every month during the year to highlight different ways to make an impact in helping the environment, animals, and people. The Green Team uses the format and mission of Jane Goodall’s Roots and Shoots.org youth service organization as its foundation.
Roots and Shoots’ mission: “To foster respect and compassion for all living things, to promote understanding of all cultures and beliefs, and to inspire each individual to take action to make the world a better place for people, other animals, and the environment.”
During this school year, several experts have come to Green Team meetings to share information about recycling, pollinator-friendly gardens, native plants, and bees. At the meetings, the Green Team participates in several hands-on activities, such as gardening, collecting seeds, making wet and dry seed paper, and planting trees and flowers at HCS.
On Fri., April 19, the Green Team aptly led H.C. Storm’s Earth Day assembly. The Earth Day assembly kicked off with the opening song, “Let it Grow,” which was performed by the entire school and led by the HCS Music Teacher Laura Bankemper.
Next, the Green Team presented a beautiful PowerPoint presentation to explain the differences and similarities between bees and wasps to help everyone understand that these insects are beneficial to humans and the planet.
Younger green team members in kindergarten and first grade showed how bees do the “waggle dance.” The waggle dance is how bees communicate the distance and direction to a resource (food, water, tree resin, or nesting site).
The waggle dancers’ costumes were made of recycled bubble wrap to create the wings and black tape on yellow shirts for the body.
The assembly concluded with an informative and fun recycling video created by the Green Team to bring awareness to fellow students on how to reduce, reuse, recycle, and rethink when eating lunch in the school cafeteria.
HC Storm’s Green Team is led by adult volunteers Luna Nino, Alice Lohman, and Abby Beck. Ms. Luna was recognized at the assembly for her leadership with Green Team over the past two years. She is a Kane County certified naturalist and helped shine a light on how important it is now, more than ever, to make our planet greener. With her help, H.C. Storm has introduced native plant species into its outdoor classroom and kindergarten gardens to help pollinators.
To keep up with the active HCS Green Team, visit the group’s Facebook page >
