Pau-Wa-Lu students clean up

More than 200 students at Pau-Wa-Lu Middle School spent Tuesday, Earth Day, outside under a gray sky in a howling wind trying to beautify their campus.

Students picked up trash, pulled weeds, planted trees and flowers, repainted old equipment, washed windows and cleaned the school's gym.

"We're making our campus better," said ninth-grader Natalie Freitas, taking a break from washing windows. "We're cleaning up a bit and making some changes."

Heather Kahabka from the Plant It Nursery in Gardnerville helped students remove dead shrubs, weeds and trash from courtyard planters.

"This really gives them pride in their school," Kahabka said.

The nursery donated 'kid-hardy' plants and flowers, primrose, forsythia and honeysuckle, among other species.

"It teaches them to appreciate plants and the earth," Kahabka said.

Students showed no aversion to dirt as they worked the planters.

"We're tearing some old roots out right now, and then we'll be planting some nice flowers," said seventh-grader Jake Connolly. "It's fun, and it's good for the environment."

Science teacher Garth Pintler helped students waterproof outdoor equipment.

"I would like to make this a yearly tradition," he said. "If we instill a sense of community service into our students now, it will last the rest of their lives."

Ninth-graders Kalynn Hobson and Samantha Phillips and eighth-grader Hannah Townsend, all from Mena Dedmon's leadership class, were on the campus beautification committee that spearheaded the event.

"We held meetings with the principal, and we called around for donations," said Hobson. "It was very nerve-wracking calling people."

The committee procured donations from Plant It Nursery, tools from Ace Hardware and Home Depot, and other supplies from Raley's and Wal-Mart.

"We're cleaning up and making things look prettier, but we are also educating our classmates about recycling," Hobson said.

Some of her classmates were covered in blue paint from repainting a large recycling bin in front of the school. The students wanted to make sure everybody could see it and knew where it was.

"We're helping the environment, but we're also having a lot of fun," said eighth-grader Justine Cawthorne.

"The kids are awesome," said Dedmon. "I wasn't sure we would get it all done, but the students came together and made it work."