The U.S. Army Reserve’s 99th Readiness Division celebrated Earth Day at division headquarters here April 25 during Bring Your Child to Work Day.
“It is important to have an Earth Day event and to invite children,” said Jacqueline Siciliano, 99th RD Environmental Division chief. “We want to teach them at a very young age why it’s so important to protect our natural environment and our wildlife, why farming is so important; pollination, pollinated gardens, bees and butterflies - they all play such a critical role in how we get our food.”
The central activity of the day took place when the children of 99th RD Soldiers and civilian employees planted two pollinator gardens. Staff and parents supervised the kids as they planted a variety of flowers in two garden beds built in front of the facility.
“We’re excited about the planting. We want to teach children that farmers rely on pollinators to basically help propagate their vegetables and fruits,” Siciliano said. “It’s something that we enjoy every day. It’s how the wildlife survive. They rely on all those leaves and fruits and vegetables.
“We also want to protect aquatic animals; we don’t want to pollute streams, we don’t want to pollute lakes,” she continued. “You certainly want those fish to be around, you want the frogs and the turtles, so it’s really important for us to protect the environment, protect the earth.”
The 99th RD’s Directorate of Public Works built the garden structures prior to the Earth Day celebration and also coordinated other Earth Day-related activities throughout the day. Additional events for the many kids participating were coloring and chalk drawing, agriculture education by 4-H, and a visit by Family Programs to emphasize the many programs the Army has for Soldiers and their families.
Additionally, the 99th RD Computer-Aided Design/Geographic Information Systems staff were on hand to introduce 3D printers to children as they demonstrated how the printers help DPW model facilities and plan for environmental concerns such as storm-water runoff.
