Benton Harbor students enjoy getting hands-on for Earth Day

BENTON HARBOR, Mich. -- Some of Benton Harbor's youngest students got a chance to learn the meaning behind Earth Day today, and to celebrate the planet with nature-themed activities. 

Kids at the Discovery Enrichment Center got an up-close look at how easy it can be to help Mother Nature on Earth Day, starting with litter pick-up. 

"It is very important for them to know not only to be great assets to their environment that they're around or their neighborhood but to know about recycling, and how they can be a great neighbor, a great asset to cleaning up their area where they live," said school principal Dillondria Patterson.

Teachers and staff use this time every year to reflect, take stock, and teach their school kids the importance of a big task - making sure our planet stays beautiful for as long as it can. 

"I think a day like today is important because it reminds us as a staff how important it is to take care of the earth, but it's important for the kids to make those connections with the Earth too, so they're growing into their understanding of how to take care of this planet, like me and the kids talk about, if we don't take care of the Earth, the planet will get sick," said Sarah Cadet, kindergarten teacher.

In addition to picking up trash at the school, the kids also made dirt cakes and learned important facts about recycling and conservation.

"I hope our students take away the importance of being a good citizen, by knowing how to recycle, how to be mindful, how to take care of our Earth, just being mindful of cleaning up after ourselves, there's so many ways we can protect our earth, just by doing things on a daily basis," said Patterson.