Hundreds of St. John Children Join in Celebration of Earth Day

By Judi Shimel | The Source US VIrgin Islands | April 24, 2026 | Educators and environmental scientists joined hundreds of school children this week for a celebration of Earth Day — a day to celebrate the wonders of nature since 1970. Earth Day 2026 came to St. John on a mild spring morning just outside the doors of the National Park Visitors Center.

Some advocates for the environment describe Earth Day as part of an ongoing campaign to educate, promote cleanup activities and plant trees. Adults stationed at displays in the National Park Ballfield enticed the students to do just that.

At the Island Green Living tent, visitors were invited to take paper seedling pots from a box. Seated next to an open bag of soil, Kheyanna David described how the paper pots work. “When the kids come around they add the soil to newspaper pot, take a seed of their choice — basil, okra or one of these fun little flowers — and when they get home the remove that little tape at the bottom and put it in a pot of soil, or even the soil at home,” David said.

And by the number of students marching with a seedling in their hand, the activity seemed to have caught on.

Then there was the Earth Day Trash Stomp: a parade of children led by costumed lobsters, the Waste Management Authority Litter Critter, and — of course — Mother Earth, played by Friends of the Virgin Islands National Park Finance Manager Stephanie George.

“My costume is Earth to celebrate Earth, but the staff and the crown and the necklace are made out of trash. We’ve got cardboard, bottle caps, some old lanyards from the (Beach 2 Beach) Power Swim, and my crown is made out of packaging material,” George said.

Many displays held coloring pages and piles of crayons for students who wanted to illustrate local sea life. Glenn Harmon inspired students to think about invasive lionfish and their impact on the fish they prey on.

“Now, we are expanding into sustainable living. Now we’re conserving water and education, saving electricity and education, and now we’re expanding into the planting program,” Williams said.

Newly appointed Island Green Director Dawn Henry said she was impressed to see how students interacted with exhibits at the ball field, and how much they already knew about St. John’s environmental concerns.

“We here in the Virgin Islands need to continue to have more activities like what the National Park is doing to continue to educate our children about the things we do every day to impact this planet – whether it’s in a positive way or a negative way,” Henry said.