On the 70th anniversary of the passage of Hurricane Janet, students of Ellerton Primary School in St George dug into hands-on learning as they celebrated National Arbour Day on Monday with a lively programme focused on the value of trees and plants.
The event saw children planting greenery, taking guided nature walks, and exploring lessons across subjects reflecting the role of trees in sustaining the environment. The day was marked by a series of activities designed to highlight how trees improve air quality, provide shade, and support wildlife.
National Arbour Day is marked on September 22 to commemorate the category three cyclone striking Barbados in 1955. Hurricane Janet was one of the most powerful cyclones to affect the island, causing widespread devastation to trees and the landscape. The remembrance serves as both a warning and a call to restorative action through tree planting.
Joseph Isaacs, science coordinator at Ellerton Primary, said the initiative was aimed at making children more aware of plants and their value.
“Today we are observing Arbour Day, making the children aware about plants and their importance,” he explained. “This morning we had a presentation about plants by Nash Johnson from Mah-Ah Walk Agriculture Park, followed by the children actually planting some plants to beautify the school and make the environment more friendly and beautiful.”
Isaacs added that the activities were designed to help students understand how different plants thrive: “I would hope they take away the importance of plants and learn about the layering of plants—meaning tall plants, short plants—and that some prefer sun, some prefer shade.”
The day’s programme also included a guided nature walk around the school to identify various plants, a video on the importance of trees, and interactive lessons across different subjects.
“In terms of artificial intelligence, the Class Three will engage in a lesson whereby they will be able to create AI in terms of plants,” Isaacs said. “Apart from that, in visual arts there will be bark rubbing, and in mathematics we will be doing some tallying with the different types of trees on the school plan.”
(SB)
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