Mrs. Mitchell's Giraffes: Earth Day Celebrations and Jump Rope for Heart

We had so much fun celebrating Earth Day and Jump Rope For Heart on the Friday before our April Vacation!

Before our Jump Rope for Heart Celebration in the afternoon, the giraffes got to participate in three different Earth Day centers around the school. Our first center was out in the garden, where Ms. Gaudet helped us clean up our garden beds so they'll be ready for planting when we return from vacation.

We took a quick snack break before heading back outside to see a Raptor Show!

Jane and her assistant Bethany from On The Wing came to teach us all about raptors and the role they play in our Earth. Jane told us that every single living creature on Earth plays an important role in the well-being of our planet, and it is important that we respect all living things. Raptors help the Earth with population control and by getting rid of waste! The first raptor she showed us was a Vulture, which eats dead animals and in turn helps to prevent the spread of disease.

The next animal she showed us was a Screech Owl named Scout. Screech Owls help with pest control and even coexist with animals such as worms that would otherwise be their prey so they can get rid of any pesky parasites in their nest!

Screech Owls are also very good at camouflage!

We also got to see a Saw-Whet Owl and a Barn Owl, and we even got to feel how soft their feathers were. Their softness allows them to flap their wings and remain perfectly silent!

We learned that ALL raptors have very sharp talons, and you should always stay at least 500 feet away from any raptors you see in the wild!

Lastly, we got to see an Eagle Owl, which is native to Russia and is capable of taking down a small mule deer! All owls have very large eyes that let in a lot of light, allowing them to see in the night. Because their eyes are so large, they are not able to turn their eyes on their own, which is why they are able to turn their heads almost 280 degrees!

After the Raptor Show, each of the giraffes worked on making Earth Day posters to enter in a contest down at the office! Although we didn't win the contest, we still made some stellar posters to hang in our hallways around school!

Our last Earth Day center was a simulated Oil Spill, where we learned first-hand how tricky it is to clean up a leaking oil tanker! First we began with a clean "ocean" and each of the giraffes added a feather to it to represent the many animals that live in and around the ocean and rely on the ocean as their habitat and source of food.

Afterwards, a big rig of "crude oil" (vegetable oil and cocoa powder!) spilled into the ocean and it was our job to clean it up! We worked together with partners to scoop out the oil from the ocean and to clean our feathers with Dawn dish soap as best we could.

Even though we did a pretty good job cleaning the feathers and we got a lot of the oil out of the ocean, we realized it would be impossible to completely remove all the oil from them. We talked about what we can do to prevent disasters like this from happening in the future, such as using renewable energy, reducing our use of plastic products and recycling the plastic we do use! We tried watching this video created by other Elementary School students but had some technical difficulties, so we will share it here!

Finally, it was time for Jump Rope for Heart! The giraffes jumped, hula hooped, danced, and played for the rest of the afternoon to promote healthy hearts and to raise money for The American Heart Association!