When Elora Lambdin thinks about Earth Day, topics like “recycling, pollution and animals” come to her mind. A third grader at Florida State University School, she believes that regardless of age, we can all do our part to take care of the planet. She recently attended the “All About Earth” camp, presented by The Challenger Learning Center of Tallahassee and she got the opportunity to use her creativity to tackle environmental issues.  
 
Led by Layne Mikesell, CLC educational programs coordinator, Elora and her campmates explored a variety of art making techniques in celebration of Earth Day. They created watercolor portraits of the globe, handmade paper, rain cloud mobiles and seed bursts — marble sized balls made of clay, soil and seeds.

They can be used to introduce vegetation by simply tossing them into areas where the natural flora has been destroyed. Not only do the new plants add beauty, they can also help rebuild natural ecosystems and take planet-warming greenhouse gases out of the atmosphere.
 
Elora has plans for her seed bursts. “I have pots because I like to plant flowers. I think I have some soil left and I’ll get my mom to help me get my pots and put my seed bursts in them. I think people should should plant more flowers because they give us nice clean air,” she said.  

Mikesell agrees and added “the seed bursts were designed so that if you couldn’t get into an area to plant it, you could just chuck them over the fence. Hopefully something would grow and it would attract butterflies and bees and they’d help pollinate and more things would grow.”
 
Conversations about the environment often focus on destructive elements. Instead, CLC encourages children to think about ways they can make a positive contribution using their imagination and ingenuity to create solutions to persistent problems. This is a central tenet of the STEAM movement. 
 
During the last decade, America’s education systems have placed heavy emphasis on STEM subjects. Focusing on the interconnection among the disciplines of science, technology, engineering and math is thought to better prepare 21st-century workers. However, many education experts have realized that STEM is missing a critical component — the arts. 

STEAM programs add art to STEM curricula by incorporating elements and principles of design and encouraging innovation and creative problem solving. CLC fully embraces the STEAM philosophy and much of their educational content allows students to explore the intersection of the arts and sciences.
 
“We want to relay to kids that the sciences and the arts are not isolated subjects,” explained Mikesell. “All of them overlap. Art bleeds over into all these different things.” She also recognizes that “when it comes to the younger grades, the best way to hold their attention is to have an art component. It helps them to conceptualize the content.”
 
That’s true for Gilchrist Elementary School second grader Grant Hayden. He was a camp attendee and he knows first-hand about reusing materials for creative purposes. “I used to make stuff out of old things so we didn’t have to throw it away. I made a drum out of a coffee and yogurt container.” 

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