Earth Day 2024

As Pope Francis stated, Earth Day “is an occasion for renewing our commitment to love and care for our common home and for the weaker members of our human family.” This year Saint Patrick Catholic School celebrated Earth Day on Wednesday, April 17. It was a beautiful spring day and our students thoroughly enjoyed a morning full of events and activity stations.

Our PreK and Kindergarten students participated in a number of activities on The Green. They dug for worms, planted seeds, and learned all about the life cycle of bees from Saint Patrick parent, staff member, and Beekeeper, Sarah Moro.  PreK teacher Heather Powers even secured some volunteers from the Norfolk Botanical Gardens who offered a fun and engaging presentation on butterflies!

First through fourth grade students visited different stations and enjoyed a variety of activities including a recycle relay, Sun Art, and learned about the Mason Bee pollinators from alumni parent, Barbara Bonheur. The Catholic High School Environmental Club showed students how they could use recycled materials to create art and The Elizabeth River Project taught students about how snails help their habitat. Perhaps the most popular station was the Solar S‘Mores. While it took a little patience, students created ovens and used the sun's power to bake their gooey treats.

Middle School students studied renewable and non-renewable resources, learned water quality with parent and Laudato Si Committee member Janet Kim, participated in bird watching, tree identification with a Norfolk Park Ranger, and oyster gardening with two Wolfhound alumni - Mills Everett and Adam Fairchilds - and Wolfhound parent Christy Everett of the Chesapeake Bay Foundation. In addition, alumni parent Jack Granger hosted a solar display, the Surfrider Foundation shared how we can keep our waterways free of pollution and trash, and a team from the Hermitage Museum & Gardens was on hand to discuss living shorelines.

We thank the Saint Patrick Catholic School Laudato Si Committee, comprised of current and former teachers, parents, and staff members, for their hard work in organizing and carrying out these fun Earth Day activities. We would also like to give a special shout-out to Suzanne Emmons and Meg Lassalle for leading the efforts on Earth Day. This committee also leads the many efforts throughout the year to sustain and carry out our mission of environmental stewardship.