My Earth Day Birthday

My Earth Day Birthday

Tara's Story My name is Tara, and this year I had the best birthday EVER! My birthday is on April 22-Earth Day. I call it my “ Earth Day birthday. " Every year, I do something special on my birthday to help the environment. Last year my mom and I helped clean up a beach. I had a great time and learned a lot about ocean animals. But this year's celebration was even better!

Back in January, my teacher, Ms. Gonzales, told our class that the school would hold a special Earth Day celebration this year. Each class had a project, and Ms. Gonzales volunteered our class to organize a fair for the school. Because of my birthday, my classmates put me in charge of the whole thing!

I wasn't always interested in the environment. But two years ago, my family went on a vacation to Mexico. We went for a walk on the beach and saw a dead sea turtle that had choked on a plastic grocery bag. I was shocked to see how something as simple as a grocery bag could kill a wild animal. I felt sad that the sea turtle's life was wasted. That day, I decided I would find a way to help the environment.

Organizing the Fair After Ms. Gonzales told us about our class project, we had a brainstorming meeting. Some kids came up with ideas right away. Other kids needed help, so I gave them a few ideas, like: Teaching people about recycling at home Selling reusable bags to cut down on waste Selling things made from renewable materials such as bamboo Putting on a skit about something happening to the environment By the end of our meeting, we had a great plan. We were all really excited about the fair. One of my jobs was to keep a chart of everyone's ideas. Ms. Gonzales put up a whiteboard in the classroom. I listed each idea on the board. I also wrote down who would work on it and what materials and help they'd need. I checked in with my classmates over the next few months to see if they needed help. There was a lot to do, but working together made it fun.

Sometimes family members even helped us with our projects. We were surprised at how fast the time flew. Before we knew it, Earth Day had arrived!