Students transformed brick into water under the pink hue of sun-dipped Kwanzan cherry trees at Christ the King Regional school here Tuesday. First- and second-graders lined up as patiently as expected on a 70-degree morning where any other day, they could only yearn to touch the calming out-door sanctuary.
In six hours, these students and their classmates from kindergarten through eighth grade, converted a brick patio into a 2,200-gallon ecosystem in honor of Earth Day. The children eagerly waited to dump a pail of dusty stones or water at the pond's edge. But first came a lesson. Jerry Lister, with AquaScapes of the Delaware Valley, quizzed them on their knowledge.
"What this pond is, is a living, breathing ecosystem in our environment," Lister told a group of second-graders incapable of sitting still. "What is today?" "Earth Day," the kids answered. "What's the purpose?" Lister asked. "Earth, they shouted. "What about the Earth?" "Protect the Earth," they said in unison.
Building the pond was one of dozens of efforts in the tri-county area Tuesday for Earth Day......
Back at Christ the King School, aquatic life has been the topic of second-grade teacher Toni Firlein's classes this week. "We want to make a pond because it is Earth Day, and so all the birds and fish can live there," said second grader Molly M. "It's a day to stoop and take care of the Earth," classmate Ben S. said.
Sister Michele DeGregorio, the principal, said she's not sure how to top this effort next year. "We've never done anything this huge," DeGregorio said. "What we'd like to do is create this (adjacent) space as a haven and keep it going."
By Josh Gidjunis (Courier Post Staff)
