Earth Day: Learning what it means to save the planet

Anne Shaner, a volunteer from Sioux City, helps a Hinton Community School first grader put the finishing touches on her toilet paper tube birdfeeder at Hillview Park. All Hinton elementary students in Discovergarten through fifth grade participated in the Earth Day activities organized by Victoria Shamblen, county naturalist. [Click to enlarge]

Saving the world doesn't necessarily require wearing a cape and blue tights.

That's what elementary students from Hinton learned while tromping around Hillview Park Tuesday in honor of the 38th annual Earth Day.

At one station, students picking chocolate chips out of a cookie to learn about how coal is mined. While they worked, Cathie Shively of the Northwest Iowa Power Cooperative (NIPCO) told them about the earth's limited supply of the fossil fuel. NIPCO delivers energy to rural power cooperatives in the region.

Coal, Shively said, provides 75 percent of NIPCO's power. The rest is hydroelectric.

"People need to realize we will use up all the coal, so it's important we use our electricity wisely," Shively said.

What are some ways family can cut back on electricity use? Shively gave two. Use compact fluorescent light bulbs instead of regular ones. And get rid of that old refrigerator or freezer in your garage.

"It's very likely an energy hog. Replace it with an energy efficient fridge or just don't use it," she said. "You'd be surprised how much energy the old ones use."

Down the road, first graders made a recycled gift for Mother's Day.

Scooping out a cup of colorful mush -- three parts water and one part recycled paper shreds plus perennial seeds thrown in -- the students poured a circle of the mix onto a screen. Sponging out the water and letting the paper dry, students created circles that when planted under a little dirt, would grow flowers.

Hillview Park buzzed with kids chatting as they learned.

They made birdfeeders from toilet paper rolls and learned how to spot different varieties of birds. They worked with conservation staff to pick up litter around the park, separating items to be recycled. They sorted recycling items with Plymouth County Landfill Manager Mark Kunkel.

County naturalist Victoria Shamblen organized the Earth Day event, helped out by 15 volunteers, three conservation staff members and several sponsors.

At the end of the day, the students took home a green cloth reusable grocery sack and blue bags for recycling. And a few little ways to save the world.

"I learned we should recycle," said fourth grader Hayden Means. "It helps the earth."