Rolling Valley Elementary School in West Springfield welcomed a flock of lambs to its campus as part of its final Earth Week event, according to an April 27 announcement. Instead of using traditional lawn mowers, the school allowed the lambs to graze on the grass, providing a natural and sustainable method for groundskeeping.
The initiative was organized through FCPS Get2Green and involved Lamb Mowers, a local company that uses sheep for landscaping tasks. The event aimed to teach students about alternative ways to accomplish routine work in environmentally friendly ways. Every grade participated in outdoor activities focused on appreciating nature and learning about sustainability.
Principal Veronica Del Bagno said, “On Thursday, we learned about what the sheep can do, and how we can have alternative means to accomplish routine tasks. So instead of a lawnmower using gas or energy, there may be some outside-the-box methods that are available to us to complete work in a more sustainable way. That is when they learned the Lamb Mowers would be coming, to show us that concept in action.”
Students engaged in various projects throughout Earth Week. Kindergartners planted flowers; fourth graders created bee houses from recycled materials; sixth graders tracked birds after lessons from an ornithologist. Karen, a sixth-grade student and member of the Green Team at Rolling Valley Elementary School said, “Lambs clipping the grass by eating it is better for the school environment than lawn mowers that use gas or other kinds of energy… I thought they were really cute – I got to feed them, they licked my whole hand, which felt weird, but it was also all very cute.”
Staff members highlighted ongoing sustainability efforts at Rolling Valley Elementary School. Teachers Jennifer Marsala and Sally Milian mentioned four gardens maintained by students: pollinator garden, flower garden, vegetable garden and sensory garden. The school also introduced milk carton recycling this year.
Milian said about this effort: “Our amazing custodian set up a bucket where kids who are done with milk can put their empty cartons into a recycling bin… Without buy-in from the cafeteria and custodial staff we wouldn’t be able to pull this off. It is really a whole-school effort.” Marsala added: “We did this in the hopes that it would create some core memories… There is definitely a connection to the curriculum as well. They will go back and write about this, and some will do some research on sheep. It all comes together.”
The lamb visit marked both an educational opportunity for students unfamiliar with farm animals and another step forward in Rolling Valley’s commitment toward environmental stewardship.
