In celebration of Earth Day, more than 700 second graders from Auburn city schools on April 12-13 enjoyed a “kid’s day out” to learn about conservation and protecting Mother Nature.

Many children “oohed and aahed” as they touched and held turtle shells collected in the wild by Alabama Power Environmental Affairs specialists. Children gasped in delight as they got an up-close look at critters — including some nonpoisonous snakes — displayed by staff from Kreher Preserve and Nature Center.

Students from the Auburn Early Education Center, Cary Woods Elementary, Creekside Elementary and Dean Wood Elementary schools enjoyed the program, whose focus was on teaching students about protecting the natural environment. Event partners included Kreher Preserve and Nature Center; Alabama Power; and the city of Auburn’s Environmental Services, Water Resources, and Parks and Recreation departments.

Second graders from four Auburn elementary schools enjoyed the annual Earth Day celebration sponsored by Auburn Parks and Recreation April 12-13. City of Auburn staff told children that it’s important to recycle. (Rod Cater / Alabama Power)

From 9 a.m. to 1:30 p.m., children rotated through five, 1-and-a-half hour educational stations at Auburn’s Frank Brown Recreation Center, which focused on:

• Recycling efforts by the city of Auburn’s Environmental Services Department.
• Conserving precious water resources, demonstrated by the city of Auburn’s Water Resources Department.
• Protecting Earth’s fascinating animals and their natural habitats, sponsored by Kreher Preserve and Nature Center.
• Sharing Alabama Power’s public recreation, stewardship and conservation efforts.
• Using recycled materials to make wearable art, led by Auburn Parks and Recreation.

For more than 20 years, Auburn Parks and Recreation has sponsored the educational program to boost learning for schoolchildren, Sarah Cook said.

“The whole point of doing this for our second graders is it ties into what they’re learning in school, so it’s part of their curriculum. We want to build on that,” said Cook, Community Programs coordinator for Auburn Parks and Recreation, who has helped organize the event for three years. “Conservation is an important aspect for students to learn about. This program gets children out of school to learn from other people, not just their teachers.”

Garret Parker, Shoreline Recreation team leader at Alabama Power, shared with kids the need to protect endangered species and the state’s watershed, highlighting the successful Renew Our Rivers cleanup program and the company’s public recreation program, The Preserves.

“I enjoyed the opportunity to share Alabama Power’s long-standing environmental stewardship efforts,” said Parker, who has worked at the company 10 years. “I had about 20 minutes with each group of kids to share that message. I touched on a lot of things, such as how Alabama Power plants pollinator plots, installs bat boxes and makes other efforts for preservation and conservation of our natural resources.”

Children petted a nonpoisonous snake from Kreher Nature Preserve. (Rod Cater / Alabama Power)

Children learned to make wearable art from magazines and newspapers. (Rod Cater / Alabama Power)

Parker told children it’s important to protect Alabama’s natural resources. (Rod Cater / Alabama Power)

Children learned to make wearable art from magazines and newspapers. (Rod Cater / Alabama Power)

Kids learned about recycling. (Rod Cater / Alabama Power)

Five staff members from Auburn Parks and Recreation’s Art Center worked one-on-one with children in creating recyclable art from old magazines and newspapers. Fashioning beads from the paper, kids made a necklace or bracelet to take home.

Cook said the teachers were grateful and complimentary about the program.

“The students were very engaged and asked great questions in every session,” she said.