On Friday, North Branch celebrated Earth Day. The morning was full of activities such as nature trail rejuvenation, tree planting, seed ball making, special science presentations and litter pick up. The afternoon brought a play, special games and songs and more. In between was the annual Earth Day snack: strawberry shortcake! We ended the day with a lovely baby shower for Oscar, our Spanish teacher, and his family.
I learned many interesting things while listening to the 7th and 8th grade ocean reports. Among them:
1. Octupi have three hearts.
2. Baby blue whales can gain up to nine (!) pounds an hour while nursing. They learn to swim about thirty minutes after being born – until that time, their mother holds them above the water to breathe.
3. There are 35 different kinds of seahorses – the smallest is 1/2″ and the largest (the Potbelly Seahorse) is 14″ long.
4. At the deep sea vents, some life forms can withstand 407 degree (C) water.
