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Earth Day came early

Picking up trash, planting trees and learning about rehabilitated wildlife? Sure beats sitting in class. A group of sixth and seventh graders from Belmont Ridge Middle School spent the morning of April 15 out of school and getting dirty — opting to fish trash out of streams and fertilize baby trees near the neighboring National Conference Center. Earth Day is officially recognized on April 22, but Belmont Ridge Middle and the National Conference Center decided to hold festivities a week early to give the students—who will be out on Spring Break next week—the chance to participate.

Belinda Lee Burwell, Director of the Blue Ridge Wildlife Center, prepares to release a rehabilitated red-tailed hawk back into the wild in front of a Belmont Ridge Middle School ecology class at the National Conference Center April 15 as part of an early celebration of Earth Day. The wildlife center doesn't name and limits handling of wildlife that are able to recover so that they will continue to keep their distance from humans.

Joel Mateo, 11, shovels soil onto a newly planted tree with his Belmont Ridge Middle School classmates during an educational event at the National Conference Center April 15 celebrating Earth Day a week early. Times-Mirror Staff Photo/Beverly Denny

Connor Hite, 11, waits to shovel soil around a newly planted tree with his ecology class of Belmont Ridge Middle School as part of a National Conference Center event April 15 celebrating Earth Day early.

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