Happy Earth Day!

Strawberries from the Museum’s Victory Garden.

Today marks the 32^nd annual Earth Day, where we’re all challenged to foster a clean and sustainable world for us and many generations to come. The Earth Day network launched a campaign to collect “One Billion Acts of Green” by 2012. At The National WWII Museum, there’s plenty of ways to help reach that goal and promote environmental responsibility.

Next time you’re in or around the Museum, be sure to check on the progress of our Victory Garden, carefully tended and cared for by Louisiana Master Gardeners and Museum volunteers. You’ll be able to see how quickly the corn in the front bed is growing or maybe even a few strawberries or tomatoes starting to sprout. Perhaps this will serve as inspiration to start a Victory Garden at your home, whether it’s a small indoor planter with fresh herbs or multiple raised beds in your backyard.

Join us in our Victory Garden on April 28^th for our family workshop on composting. Kids will make and take home their very own soda bottle composter. They’ll discover all the different elements that create healthy compost, how decomposition works, and how their food wastes can be turned into healthy soil for their garden. Families will also learn about WWII scrapping, how people banded together for the war effort to ensure that very little went to waste, and what purpose these recycled materials served.

We can bring the Earth Day spirit right to your school’s doorstep through our Red Ball Express mobile outreach program. The Red Ball Express will roll to schools within a 60 mile radius of the Museum, and deliver a dynamic, hands-on program that puts students at the center of it all.  In our Seeds of Victory program, students will go grocery shopping with ration books in hand, interpret propaganda posters and even start a garden in their own classroom.

Want to get in on the fun, but live thousands of miles away? Book our latest videoconference Virtual Victory Garden at your school to be part of the initiative. This program is perfect for students in grades 2-5, and it teaches them the lessons of sacrifice and teamwork on the WWII Home Front, nutrition, and the just plain fun of gardening.  In the program, students will play an exciting game to figure out all the steps to growing a healthy garden.

To contradict Kermit the Frog, today it IS easy being green, especially by getting involved at the Museum!

Posted by Chrissy Gregg, Virtual Classroom Coordinator at The National WWII Museum.