Earth Week celebrations continued Thursday in Perry as Perry City Administrator Sven Peterson introduced students at the Perry Elementary School and St. Patrick Catholic School to the city’s water and wastewater treatment systems and discussed the plans for a new wastewater treatment plant.
Peterson said the city of Perry has a number of ecologically friendly programs, including recycling, energy-saving street lights, wind turbines, a solar-powered marketplace and other green technologies, but this year he took the students on a sewer tour — via a Powerpoint presentation about the sewer system.
To illustrate concretely his point about the importance of Perry’s water purification system, Peterson brought along two sealed jars, one containing untreated waste water and one holding treated well water. Perry Elementary School Principal Ned Menke earned many “Oohs” and “Ahs” from students when he bravely volunteered to drink from the jar of treated water.
The fourth graders and their teachers peppered Peterson with numerous questions about the Perry water system following his presentation.
Earth Week aims to teach students about the importance of recycling and other forms of environmental sustainability. Friday’s Earth Week celebration will bring Tree Day, when students from the Perry Elementary School and St. Pat’s will gather, weather permitting, at 1 p.m. to see Perry Parks and Recreation Director John Anderson plant two trees using the city’s new tree spade.
Anderson will also give a short program on the importance of trees and the development of the city nursery.
Earth Day was first celebrated in 1970 and now includes events in more than 193 countries.
