WAYNESBORO, Pa. -- They collected nearly 200,000 pennies from piggy banks, parents and parking lots, and, on Tuesday, students at Hooverville Elementary School were rewarded with the National Audubon Society's first-ever "BioBash."
The elementary school's contribution of $1,915 to the "Pennies for the Planet" campaign earned it recognition as raising more than any other school involved. Donations support Atlantic puffins on the islands of Maine, preservation of the Four Holes Swamp in South Carolina and research of sagebrush in Wyoming.
"It showed that everyone working even a little bit can do something big," said Taryn Martinez, an Audubon spokeswoman.
The BioBash provided opportunities for children to participate in workshops about the environment. Included were ZooAmerica birds native to Pennsylvania.
"We saw birds," said Jackilyn Baer, 9.
"There were hawks and a couple owls," said Keirsten Rotz, 9.
"We mostly learned about the habitats and different owls. My favorite bird I saw today was the smallest one," said Mallory Augustine, 10, adding that she enjoyed making a bird feeder from one of more than 300 milk cartons saved by the school.
