Students learn to reduce, reuse, and recycle during Earth Day celebration at Council Oak Elementary

Council Oak Elementary School had an Earth Day celebration with its students, parents, and teachers. The outdoor event taught about recycling and how to care for the planet.

Tuesday, April 22nd 2025, 3:13 pm

By: Alyssa Miller

TULSA, Okla. -

Students, parents, and teachers at Council Oak Elementary School are going green to celebrate Earth Day.

The annual event is held on April 22 and started in 1970. It is a day to celebrate the planet, highlight environmental challenges, and inspire actions for a healthier and more sustainable world.

Community Involvement

The school's Earth Day celebration would not be possible without its community partners and volunteers. Pre-K teacher Patty Eaton is the organizer and said, "A lot of the vendors that we have out here today are teaching kids about the environment, planting, butterflies, animals, and just how to care for the Earth."

Reduce, Reuse, Recycle

Reduce, Reuse, and Recycle were the biggest lessons Eaton said she wanted the kids to take from the celebration. "Our resources are so important to make sure that we have this Earth for the future generations," she said. Organizations and businesses like The M.e.t. and Mr. Murph had booths there to educate students on the topic.

Trash-Free Lunch

The school set a goal to have a trash-free lunch on Earth Day and used trash bags full of yesterday's lunch waste to show the students why it is important. "We are trialing this to see what is it going to be like to just have kids eating on plates, and have silverware, and use their water bottles and we will take and compost the compostable foods, and hopefully have an empty trash can at the end of the day," said Eaton.

Other Earth Day Activities

The school's Earth Day celebration was from 9 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. and had activities for grades Pre-K through 5th grade. Some of the arts and crafts included Earth Day button making, bird feeder making, recycled can planters, zine making, milk jug igloos, chalk art, and making seed bombs. The kids also got to interact with live animals, work in a cardboard construction area, participate in relay races, and plant in the garden beds.

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Alyssa Miller

Alyssa joined the News On 6 team as a multimedia journalist in January 2023. Before that, Alyssa anchored 13 NEWS This Morning and told Northeast Kansans stories as a reporter for WIBW-TV. In her four years there, she won several Kansas Association of Broadcasters awards for her anchor and reporter work.