More than 200 Palm Beach County second graders visited the Ann Norton Sculpture Garden for a collaborative Earth Day event centered on learning the importance of conservation, health and Florida’s ecosystem.
The April 21 event saw the sculpture garden collaborate with 10 local organizations for a day centered on teaching students from West Palm Beach’s Galaxy E3 Elementary School and Boynton Beach-based Melaleuca Elementary School through fun activities.
The sculpture garden said in a release the event was in honor of the garden’s founder, sculptor Ann Weaver Norton, who wanted the space to serve as “an ‘educational museum and urban sanctuary’ for the public enjoyment of art, garden and natural history enthusiasts of all ages.”
With representatives of the Cox Science Center & Aquarium, students learned about the different elements that make up forest ecosystems and made their own “forest in a jar,” a bottled self-sustaining micro-garden.
That wasn’t the only hands-on activity in the day’s schedule, with students getting their hands dirty learning about compost and the wiggly earthworms that breakdown natural waste during the Youth Environmental Alliance-led activity.
With Palm Beach County’s Environmental Resources Management Department, students learned about the nearby Lake Worth Lagoon estuary and the mangroves, herons and other creatures native to the county’s coastline.
Students also had the opportunity to learn about the sea turtles that nest along the coastlines with members of the Loggerhead Marinelife Center.
Those weren’t the only sea creatures discussed, with West Palm Beach’s Manatee Lagoon leading a presentation about the much-beloved aquatic animals; teaching students about their biology and the environmental threats faced by Florida’s officially recognized marine mammal.
Friends of Palm Beach discussed the harm of single-use plastics, and taught students how they could avoid using those items and other means to prevent plastic pollution.
Water conservation took center stage during West Palm Beach Sustainability’s discussion, during which, students had the opportunity to design their own posters on how folks can save water at home and in school.
The event also tackled health-related themes with representatives of the American Heart Association leading a lesson on the nutritional benefits of fruits and vegetables.
Ann Norton Sculpture Garden staff also taught students about the materials and process Norton took to create the sculptures that detail the garden.
Diego Diaz Lasa is a journalist at the Palm Beach Daily News, part of the USA TODAY Florida Network. You can reach him at dlasa@pbdailynews.com.
This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Daily News: Second graders celebrate Earth Day at the Ann Norton Sculpture Garden
Reporting by Diego Diaz Lasa, Palm Beach Daily News / Palm Beach Daily News
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