Although Earth Day may have been last week for School of Discovery students it’s never too late to celebrate.

The Alabama Department of Environmental Management took their Earth Day program to Selma with a Thursday trip from Montgomery to the School of Discovery.

“Earth Day was April 22, but we’re celebrating here by taking our show on the road to help them become aware of environmental jobs and just the things we do at ADEM,” said Lynn Battle, chief of External Affairs at ADEM.

The department has held an Earth Day program for four years now, but this was their first time hitting the road.

“We are very excited [to have a traveling event],” Battle said. “This way we feel that we can reach out to more kids.”

Cameroun Thomas, a Selma native who is part of ADEM’s environmental measurement section, was one of the more than 30 ADEM employees to participate in Thursday’s event.

“I like working with the environment because I can help people indirectly. We have this great Earth that we live on, and we just need to keep it in tact so generations after us can enjoy,” Thomas said. “This is my opportunity to come back and teach them something … how to be aware of their surroundings and environmental health.”

The students had the opportunity to visit various stations and learn about different aspects of the environment. Some stations even offered hands-on activities that allowed the students to get involved and leave with a deeper appreciation for what they learned.

“What it means to me is that [Earth Day] is to protect the earth and helping benefit us and what we do,” said Leah Reeves, a sixth-grader at SOD. “If the whole Earth is filled with trash … it won’t help us — it won’t benefit us as a person, as people. It’s best for us to clean up Earth and have a day to celebrate it.”

Reeves’ science teacher, Michael Rainey, said the event is fun and exciting for the students, but it’s also a time for them to become better stewards of the environment.

“I think it’s a great thing for the kids,” Rainey said. “[The students get] a better understanding of the Earth. This is our Earth and we need to take care of it.”

At some stations, the kids were concentrating and trying hard to understand what they were being taught, while at others, they were laughing and enjoying the experience.

“It’s good to experiment and know how it really works instead of just knowing it from the books. You need to actually get experience to go out here and have fun with it,” Reeves said. “I’m learning how to protect the Earth and how to pick up after myself. It’s important.”

Battle said they want kids to have fun, but it’s the knowledge that they take away that is the most significant.

“It’s important because we want to encourage environmental awareness and education,” Battle said. “We want to encourage them to take jobs that will help them protect the environment and just to learn and take it home to their little brothers and sisters and also to their parents.”