STERREBEEK ANNEX, Belgium — Elementary school students learned about the local environment and planted bushes as part of an Earth Day celebration at Brussels American School on April 20, 2023.
The morning began with presentations from the U.S. Army Garrison Benelux Environmental Division, where the students were taught the environmental impact of birds and trees and how to identify several species commonly found in Belgium.
Clint Vanerman, natural and cultural resources manager for the USAG Benelux environmental division, explained the topics were a good way to introduce students to the importance of their local ecosystem.
“[Birds and trees] are what you see the most,” said Vanerman, “They’re also very important, and if they were gone an ecosystem would collapse and it would be a very bad situation.”
“Now that [the students] know what they are, they can tell their parents and brothers and sisters and make them aware.”
Sofia Mesrobyan, a fourth grader at Brussels American School, said she enjoyed the lesson.
“It was really fun learning about this stuff because we didn’t know most of the things,” Mesrobyan said. “[Now] maybe when you’re out walking, you’ll see it and be like, ‘I know that.’”
Later in the day, the fourth grade class was able to experience one of the plant species they learned about first-hand by planting dogwood bushes around the school’s football field concession stand.
According to Vanerman, dogwood bushes were selected because their berries are helpful for the local bird population.
Kami Sultangozhin, a fellow fourth grader at the school, said the bush planting experience was his favorite part of the day.
“It was my first time planting bushes,” Sultangozhin said. “I’d never heard of Earth Day before, and [today] I found out a new tradition…I was able to participate in.”
While this was both Mesrobyan’s and Sultangozhin’s first time celebrating Earth Day, both said they were excited to share the celebration with their families.
“My grandpa likes plants…and is always planting them,” Sultangozhin said. “For Earth Day tomorrow, I’ll call my grandpa and celebrate it [with him].”
Florent Valke, a core compliance contractor with the environmental division, said he really enjoyed getting to work with the students and teach them more about Earth Day and the environment.
“It’s a great feeling when I see the kids really amazed by…the little things,” he said. “You show this to some adults, they say ‘ok, I don’t really care.’ But kids are really excited about everything.”
Valke also emphasized the importance of observances like Earth Day for educating children and adults alike about caring for their local ecosystem.
“You cannot love something you don’t know,” he said. “They need to know what is inside of their environment in order to make them love it, and then protect it.”
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Earth Day is celebrated every year on April 22 to demonstrate support for environmental protection. The commemoration initially began in the U.S. in 1970, and has since spread to over 190 countries around the world.
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