"Helping the Earth": fourth graders plant flowers alongside Transit employees on Earth Day

Amid the usual hustle and bustle of shuffling feet and moving buses at the Alvarado Transportation Center on Monday morning was the distinct sounds of shovels digging into dirt and children’s voices.

The voices of 21 children to be exact, as students from Victor Chacon’s fourth grade class at nearby Lew Wallace Elementary School were hard at work turning over soil and planting new flowers in several different pots near the transit center’s bus entrance.

This group of fourth graders had been selected by the Transit Department to take part in the inaugural Earth Day planting project at the transportation center. Students worked side by side planting flowers with Transit Department employees.

The idea to host these students for this special Earth Day project only began to gain traction several weeks ago, according to Megan Holcomb, the Transit Department’s public information officer.

“This kind of came together quickly. We started talking about it in the beginning of April and we really wanted to do some beautification of the facility,” she said. “And we had the idea of involving other members of the community.”

The Transit Department decided to put out a notice to local schools, asking for volunteers to plant flowers at the transit center. Lew Wallace, an APS school Downtown, was the first to answer the call.

“Mr. Chacon jumped at the opportunity,” said Melanie Lewis, the school’s community coordinator. “It’s very important for our kids to interact with nature so they understand the connection we have between them and the planet.”

The planting project came at just the right time for the kids. Chacon said they had just learned about photosynthesis and pollination a few weeks earlier.

“This group of students is very excited. They love to do hands-on learning, and when I told them we were coming, they got even more excited,” Chacon said.

The day for the students began with one of the Transit Department’s electric buses picking them up from the school. The group sang “The Wheels on the Bus (go round and round)” on the way to the Transportation Center.

Once students arrived, they received a bag with an activity book, armed themselves with their colorful gloves and shovels, and began planting.

“We’re helping the community,” Aryka Gonzales, a fourth grade student said. “We’re helping the Earth.”

Help for the planet came in the form of the planted flowers, according to fellow student Arianna Trujillo.

“We’re planting flowers to help the bees,” Trujillo said.

A big smile could be seen on every student’s face as each worked diligently. But it wasn’t just the students enjoying themselves Monday. Several Transit Department employees mixed in, assisting the students with the planting.

Mark Eshelman, who has worked for the Transit Department for five years, was one of those employees with a huge smile on his face as he planted.

“It’s wonderful. These young people have a real fervor for the Earth and the plants, and it’s incredible how quickly they learn. They’re literally learning and growing,” he said. “I’ve really enjoyed the kids. They’re full of life, and I really hope they take away the love of nurturing plants.”

As the students filed back onto the bus for their return trip, Chacon shared Eshelman’s hope that the experience would have a lasting impact on their relationship with their environment.

“I’m hoping they take away the importance of Earth Day and continue to be ambassadors of Earth. This is the only planet we have,” he said.

Photos: Local elementary school students help transit employees plant flowers on Earth Day