On the first day of spring, Bishop Noland Episcopal Day School observed Earth Hour with an Hour without Power by shutting off the lights and getting outside.

Earth Hour is celebrated worldwide every year at 8:30 on March 23. The initiative began in Sydney in 2007, and now has over 190 participating countries each year. Households, businesses, schools and the like shut off lights and devices to spend an hour doing a fun, grounding activity.

At Bishop Noland, students, faculty and staff celebrated on Tuesday, March 19. They dedicated their hour to do something meaningful for the planet. The Rev. Frances “Boo” Kay, head of school, said that “the whole idea is to just spend an hour and do something positive for the Earth.”

The school participated in over two dozen eco-initiatives each year to foster environmental stewardship and awareness in its student body, she said. The students participated in springtime crafts — making seeds bombs and pinecone bird feeders –  book readings on environmentalism and planting herbs, flowers and vegetables on the campus.

The largest project of Hour without Power, however, is the beginning of Bishop Noland’s mass tree planting initiative. Over the past 15 years, every student has helped grow Southern Bald Cypress saplings that are planted at Sam Houston Jones State Park.

The seeds are planted during the Hour without Power. The 700 saplings that were grown over the past year were recently planted in the park. This year, they are planting about 1,000 seeds.

Kay said this project was a reaction to the tree loss that followed hurricanes Rita and Katrina, and is in partnership with Louisiana State University’s Coastal Roots Program.

“Over half of the trees in our city and along the gulf coast were destroyed. This project allows students to learn about and become environmental stewards of their natural resources by establishing native plant nurseries at their schools.”

Students at the school also grow beach grass that helps hold and build sand dunes along the beach in Cameron Parish, she said.

The students also decorated paper grocery bags with pictures and environmental messages for a local store that will distribute them to customers. They also picked up litter; Bishop Noland is one of three schools in Lake Charles that collects recyclables, she said.

Kay said that they “routinely do environmental work” to help students “establish a relationship with the Earth” and learn how to be good environmental stewards and tend to their own backyards. The relationship with nature is key, she explained.

“I really believe that in order for people to make a difference in the world they have to care, and in order to care you have to establish a relationship, just like you would with your family, your friends and your pets.”

This is one of the tenets of the Episcopal church, the Care of Creation.

The tenet expands to people, she said. One of the school’s yearlong stewardship activities is the collection of canned goods and non-perishables. Students bring these to keep their free food pantry stocked. On every third Tuesday of the month, the church gives away bags of food, no questions asked.

“We feel like we’re taking care of our neighborhood.”

Locals can participate in Earth Hour at 8:30 a.m. on March 23 by getting outside, turning off their lights and devices, getting outside and connecting with the planet and its people, Kay said.