BRIGHTON — The Environmental Protection Office (EPO) honored the planet April 22 with an Earth Day event that included information on what individuals can do to protect the Earth.

Held in Tucker Ridge on the Brighton Reservation, the event participants included kindergarten through second grade students from Pemayetv Emahakv Charter School in Brighton and middle school students from the Ahfachkee School in Big Cypress.

The interactive program included Earth-friendly activities and demonstrations presented by EPO staff. Joseph John, EPO community engagement officer, worked with Debbie Carter, EPO administrative services manager, and Paul Backhouse, EPO senior director, to bring the event to Brighton. In recent years, it had been held at the Ah-Tah-Thi-Ki Museum.

“We wanted to have it here in this wide-open space,” John said. “I wanted people to see the nature that exists on the reservations that we are trying to protect in the face of climate change.”

Carter has worked for the tribe since 1978 and was the first employee of the Environmental Resources Management Department, now the EPO, when it was founded in 1988 as the water department. She said Brighton had an Earth Day event about 10 years ago at the rodeo arena, but then it moved to Big Cypress.

“People always asked me why we don’t have it here anymore,” Carter said. “So I worked with Paul [Backhouse] and JJ [John] to put it together. The kids love it and we hope to have it here every year for the kids.”

The students remained engaged as they went from one fun learning opportunity to the next one. Activities were varied and included painting pots and planting seeds in them and coloring pictures of the Earth to learning about which native plants butterflies eat to survive and thrive. Students also made sun prints by putting flowers, leaves and weeds under glass on photographic paper for a few minutes until the sun created a image.

They saw a real Cara Cara nest and learned about the materials the birds used in it, which included twigs, wires and even a couple of cell phone chargers. EPO biological technician Mandy D’Andrea explained how she watched the birds go into abandoned cars and take the man-made items out to use in their nest.

The students were fascinated with the rate water drains from the earth through grass, rocks and sand. Spoiler alert, water drains slowest through sand. At the water quality station, they learned how certain types of algae, plants, gravel and sand can filter the water. EPO employees demonstrated by pouring dirty water through a beaker filled with those elements and students watched it come out clear.

“We have to take care of the land because it has taken care of us for so long,” John said. “It’s good for environmental health, mental health and physical health. I want to preserve the space for my future children and grandchildren.”