Spark learners get their hands dirty on Earth Day

Spark Bramley commemorated Earth Day with an energetic clean-up, rallying learners and staff members to embrace the theme Our Power, Our Planet on April 22.

The day’s activities underscored the importance of environmental stewardship and encouraged participants to take action in preserving the planet for future generations.

Spark Bramley principal Nomalungelo Machele expressed the underlying motivation for the theme, emphasising the need to teach children the significance of caring for the environment from a young age.

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“Today is a very special day, it’s Earth Day,” she said. “A day where people all over the world come together to celebrate our beautiful planet and think about how we can take care of it.

“Our responsibility falls on us to serve our classmates, community, and country. Since this is our only home, we must start with our environment, which plays a significant role in sustainability as a whole.”

“The Earth gives us so many wonderful things – clean air to breathe, trees to climb, flowers to smell, rivers to swim in, and animals to admire. And it’s our job to protect it. Even though we are small, our actions can make a big difference.”
Machele added that nowadays most children did not care about the environment and she always told her learners to clean up after themselves and keep the environment clean for their health.

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Learners Bonga Hlophe and Isabella Naiker shared their experiences during the community clean-up.

Bonga described stepping out of his comfort zone, noting how cleaning outside and participating in Earth Day activities reinforced the importance of keeping their environment healthy. “Earth Day is a time where we can take care of our environment and ensure our Earth remains clean,” he said.

Isabella acknowledged the stark realisation of how much litter existed in their surroundings. “Cleaning the environment here at Spark Bramely made me realise how dirty our planet is and how much cleaning is needed. I also enjoyed it because I was protecting animals and the ecosystem.”

In conclusion, Machele said, “If there’s one thing that I’m most confident in is that the learners are willing to learn and I can foresee a bright future for them because they don’t just take in knowledge, but they want to take action. The least our community can do is not litter.”

Machele also shared some tips on how you can help sustain the Earth:

• Reduce, reuse, recycle: Use less, reuse things, and recycle paper, plastic, and glass.
• Conserve water: Turn off taps while brushing teeth, take shorter showers.
• Plant trees: Trees help clean the air and provide homes for animals.
• Use eco-friendly products: Choose products that are gentle on the Earth.
• Walk or bike: For short trips, walk or bike instead of driving.
• Turn off lights: Switch off lights, TVs, and computers when not in use.
• Help animals: Provide food and shelter for animals, and respect their habitats.

Why is it important to take care of the Earth?

• Clean air and water: We need clean air to breathe and water to drink.
• Healthy food: We need healthy soil and plants to grow nutritious food.
• Beautiful places: We want to enjoy beautiful parks, forests, and oceans.
• Future generations: We want to leave a healthy planet for our children and grandchildren.

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