Afterschool at Lighthouse Elementary School

In January 2007 the Earth Force club was created at Lighthouse Elementary School in Jupiter, FL. The club consisted of about 15 first grade students from the school’s after-care program. The group first investigated some environmental issues of the community, and later brainstormed a project that would be beneficial to both their school and the earth. Using dot voting and a version of four corners, the group elected to participate in a project pertaining to the school grounds. After some discussion about which projects would have the biggest impact, it was decided that the group would work on restoring the school’s dilapidated nature trail. The “trail” was overgrown with weeds and housed very few animals. There were also few native Florida plants. The worst of these limitations was the lack of a map to navigate the area. To help assess what needed to be done to the area, Alana Edwards, a Florida ecosystems expert and staff member at Florida Atlantic University’s Environmental Program, came to speak with the students about the importance of planting native species that will attract wildlife. After studying the habitat for several weeks the students went to work. First native plants were brought in, and then feeders were hung to attract a variety of different birds. Next the trail was cleared of weeds and trash, and a map was created so that students and other members of the community could come and navigate their way through the trail. In an effort to keep the area free of trash, particularly cigarette butts, a letter from the students was laminated and attached to each picnic table in the area surrounding the trail asking people to be mindful of the damage they are doing to the ecosystem when they litter, and asking them to please dispose of their garbage properly. The final stage of the program was making sure that the birdfeeders and plants were maintained. The club enlisted the help of another after-care program, the Pelican Pals, who graciously agreed to upkeep these essential components of the nature trail. Throughout the program the students in the Earth Force club worked to learn about environmental issues and realized the positive affect they could have on the earth when the commit to a meaningful project.