Reinhard students celebrate Earth Day

The Bellmore School District’s youngest students, all housed at Charles A. Reinhard Early Childhood Center, develop an appreciation for the planet when they celebrate Earth Day annually. This year was no exception, as students took part in several “green” projects on April 22.

Reinhard is home to Bellmore’s kindergarten, first- and second-grade classes. The children take part in a special program every year on the anniversary of what many consider the birth of the modern environmental movement in 1970.

U.S. Sen. Gaylord Nelson, a Democrat from Wisconsin, came up with the idea for Earth Day after witnessing the ravages of the 1969 oil spill in Santa Barbara, Calif. Inspired by the student anti-war movement, he realized that if he could infuse that energy with an emerging public consciousness about air and water pollution, it would force environmental protection onto the national political agenda, according to the Earth Day Network.