Thurston Holds Second Annual Earth Day Fair

Hundreds of students from participated in the second annual Earth Day Fair Thursday, an event that featured presentations from several area organizations.

Andrea Edwards, a seventh grade Science teacher at Thurston, explained that students from sixth through eighth grade were cycled through every 40 minutes between 8:45 a.m. and 1:40 p.m. The students attended the fair during their Science class, and were pre-assigned to visit three or four stations, where local organizations held displays and gave presentations relating to environmental practices.

Each group, made up of eight to 15 children, visited the stations for about eight minutes at a time. Activities included demonstrations and presentations, as well as some hands-on activities. Edwards explained that the day is a perfect way to get students thinking about the local environment and what type of impact they have.

“This is a day for the kids to learn a little bit about the environment,” said Edwards.

Representatives from various organizations gave presentations to the students, such as Drumlin Farm, where Wendy Ernst brought a Mallard Duck and turtles for the students to watch. There was also a “touchable” station, where students could hold turtle shells and other things brought along.

Also involved in the fair were the Massachusetts Audubon Society, Wellesley Toyota and the Dedham-Westwood Water District. According to Edwards, Nature Jay from Hale Reservation was also involved in the fair and students were able to get outdoors to look at a Heron nest.

Another organization featured was the Westwood Land Trust, from which representative Cheri Hurley gave a presentation and fielded questions from students, who were also able to calculate their carbon footprint on computers.

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