Children at Magnolia Science Academy created gardens and planters for Earth Day – Daily News

Daniela Mejia works to clean a planter while participating in Beautification Day at Magnolia School Academy 7, Saturday, April 20, 2024. Volunteers and students built raised planters with native plants and flowers, and cleared an alley of weeds. (Photo by Andy Holzman, Contributing Photographer)

Earth Day volunteers at Magnolia Science Academy in Northridge pulled weeds, assembled planters, cleaned up loose snack containers – and sowed seeds of climate consciousness in their elementary school helpers.

“This gives us an opportunity to do something outside the four walls of a classroom,” Meagan Wittek, the school’s principal, said on Saturday, April 20. “It allows children to pursue their passions and be in nature.”

The Northridge event was one of four beautification days held at Magnolia Science Academy locations within the Magnolia Public Schools network. In total, more than 200 volunteers gathered at schools from Koreatown to Reseda, working to “green” each location.

“We have nurtured the school environment and I love being involved in that,” said parent volunteer Katerina Nadejova. “It’s super important for me to come out and support.”

One of the projects was the creation of a ‘literacy garden’ – a special space where students can sit outside and read or do homework, surrounded by native plants.

“I definitely understand that kids, especially (the younger) kids, just want to be outside,” said volunteer Julia Fonteca, an after-school program coordinator. “They never want to be inside. If all they had outside was dirty, they wouldn’t be as excited about school, so our consistent maintenance of the outdoors is so important.”

The Beatification Days at Magnolia Public Schools were one of several Earth Day events this week, with Angelenos across the city donning gardening gloves and grabbing trash bags to support the urban environment.

Not all Earth Day volunteers at Magnolia Public Schools were parents, students or teachers, with dozens of outside volunteers showing up to support the projects. Wittek said community partnerships are “critical for a school site to thrive.”

Several initiatives at the Northridge location, such as a monthly financial literacy class for parents and a weekly garden club, were spurred by volunteer offers from community members who wanted to lend a hand, according to Wittek.

Parent volunteer Patricia Lopez said volunteering for her 5-year-old daughter’s school activities can be difficult because of her work schedule as a full-time nanny. Since the Earth Day event was held on Saturday, Lopez was able to participate.

“It’s great for her to see that we play a big role in taking care of the place where we live and making her school beautiful,” Lopez said. “For me it is important to participate, even if it is difficult.”

The Magnolia Public Schools projects were organized with help from the nonprofit volunteer network LA Works, as well as the California Climate Action Corps, a statewide volunteer program of the Office of the Governor. Saturday’s beautification events marked the second year of this partnership.