Story tools: E-mail story | Printer-friendly | iPod friendly

PHOTO GALLERY: Bonita Elementary students celebrate Earth Day 2007

By LIANE SMITH (Contact)

Originally published — 3:29 p.m., April 20, 2007
Updated — 7:22 p.m., April 20, 2007

BONITA SPRINGS — Second-graders at Bonita Springs Elementary School got their hands dirty to celebrate Earth Day 2007.

Early Friday, Dave Diederich's class helped a crew from the Bonita Bay Group plant three live oaks on school grounds. The Bonita Bay Group, developer of several local gated communities, donated two of the trees and Pelican Nursery of Naples donated the third.

"It will be good, because it helps the Earth," said Lexie Legaul, 8.

Bill Lynn, ground maintenance manager for Bonita Bay, welcomed the second-graders by shouting: "Beautiful day; beautiful trees."

Students watched and listened as Lynn described the different tools used in taking care of trees, such as chain saws, saddles, throw backs, rope, hand saws, hard hats and gloves. The class then rushed from tree to tree, eager to help mulch around the newly planted oaks.

After the planting, several Bonita Bay Group employees went around to classrooms to hand out coloring books about the environment.

"Bonita Bay Group, as a company, has a very strong environmental ethic,” said Tom Burgess, general manager of community operations. “We try to work with schools and the city to make Earth Day a little more real."

In addition to the new trees at Bonita Springs Elementary, the Bonita Bay Group is working on four other Earth Day projects throughout Lee and Collier Counties, including planting a butterfly garden at Riverside Park in Bonita Springs.