Parents flocked to the Nicasio School last week to fill an auditorium where students of all grade levels recited poems they had written as part of the California Poets in the Schools program. From kindergarten all the way through eighth grade, students shared their celebrations of the planet ahead of Earth Day. The theme of Mother Earth allowed them to explore the relationship between the environment and human-driven pollution, each in their own unique way. Their poems highlighted micro plastics, fast fashion, garbage islands, electronic waste and much more. This year, six of the poems will be published in a student poetry anthology published by the Marin Poetry Center. California Poets in the Schools is one of the largest writer’s residency programs in the country. Michele Rivers, who has taught in Nicasio for the last 23 years through the program, mentored the students and created an art installation featuring various pollutants that end up in landfills and waterways. “No more dishing up garbage!” read a sign at a table topped with a silver candelabra, plates of rusty nails, broken glass bottles, wine corks, torn aluminum cans, and wasted batteries. Ms. Rivers said the installation helped students visualize what might otherwise be an abstract concept, given the near-invisible nature of micro plastics. By seeing everyday items laid out before them, the students were able to form a connection between their own habits and the pollution crisis at large, helping them understand how individual contributions can produce meaningful change. “Art, music and poetry are the things that make life beautiful,” Ms. Rivers said. Unless the Nicasio School Foundation raises the money to continue the program, this may be the last year that students participate in the California Poets in the Schools, which for years was made possible by a grant from the Marin Community Foundation. The organization has funded the program since the mid-’80s and has awarded Nicasio School with roughly $900,000 in grants. But to meet the goals of the new strategic plan announced in 2024, the foundation restructured its budget to focus on climate justice, affordable housingand homelessness, and community power. Funding for the poetry program was discontinued. To ease the transition, the foundation provided a final year of funding, which will end in June as the school year concludes.
Madre Naturaleza
by Heidi Martinez Garcia, grade 7
Te regala sus tierras para nuestras
Siembras y coseches de ellas
Eres tú generosa Madre Tierra habitan
Con sus bosques y montañas,
Su belleza desbordante como
Las cascadas en la Profundo
De la selva, un manto azul
Siempre deslumbra en la mas
Profundo y oscuro del universe,
y también su resplandor verde
Es la tierra floreciente y brillante
y extravagante e increíble.
Gracias madre tierra.
Mother Earth’s Feelings
By Anthony Barajas, grade 4
I love Mother Earth
When she is scared
I hear her crying for help
When she is happy
Her land is green
When I pick up trash
She is less scared
Every time it rains
It is Mother Earth tearing up
Every time the wind blows
It is Mother Earth calling for help
I am grateful to her
I love how she provides for us
Our Oceans
By Ben Kozubik, grade 4
Our oceans are full of mysteries like a good book.
They are filled with fish that swim together.
Their majestic waves bounce off the rocks like fountains.
All the fish swim in harmony like an orchestra in tune,
My heart is like the sea with so many colors shining brightly.
The ocean is full of water swelling and churning like the struggles in life.
The sea wraps around me like my mother’s arms.
The rippling waves are like an argument.
It seems like a privilege to be able to watch them.
Our Beautiful Mother Earth
By Kaya Hernandez, grade 7
We treat the Earth badly even though she is good to us.
We betray her with global warming,
making the Antarctica warm and glaciers melt.
Mother Nature helps flowers bloom in a troubled world.
She makes it rain, so her grass can turn bright green.
We have feelings, and so does Mother Earth.
When we throw trash on the street it makes Mother Earth cry.
I feel devastated when I see videos of polar bears struggling to
find safety while their home disappears.
Sometimes I think to myself how horrible people are to treat
Mother Earth so badly, after all the beauty and love she gives us.
Mother of the Sea
By Anna Neto, grade 6
My feet stand on the harsh cliffside, my eyes search for the sight of
A thirty-five-ton mammal, breeching into flight
The harsh wind is at my back when I see a tale
There’s an excited, screaming voice in my heart when I spot the whale
Rough, ragged rocks tumble down, down, down
If I were to jump, I would certainly drown
I look out to the sea reflecting the sky
Knowing there’s a whole world below the surface, calling “don’t be shy!”
My feet dig into the shore, thousands of grains milled by time
The picture-book landscape just fits like a rhyme
Dark ominous clouds gather overhead
The torrential downpour will stir the seabed
The sea foam crashes against the shore
The rain goes from sprinkle, to drizzle, to pour
The white waves pummel the beaches-soaked sands
The foam glides nearer, to where I stand
My legs bring me forward, the current pulls me down
I take a deep breath, while my toes leave the ground
My feet float in the foreign high seas
No pressure of gravity, they’re finally freed
This wild, wild deep, part of no known nation
This is truly a marvel of Mother Nature’s creation
This is a place where the squalls reach a peak
And those who seem mighty, suddenly turn weak
Problems fade away, and life seems unreal
Krill pass by, then a turtle, and a seal
A shoal of herring form a tightly knit bunch
While sharks below are planning their lunch
Sea stars cling onto shells for their lives
While oysters hide precious pearls deep inside
Immeasurable distances away, in the depths of the sea
Nightmarish creatures exist, only seen in my dreams
I hear a sound, that instills great fear
But it’s mere beauty, draws me near
Through the water, I see the silhouette
Of a ginormous great creature, enjoying the sunset
Watching everyone in the seas, making certain all is well
She feels the ocean and every part of the swell
From the galaxies in her eyes to her white patterned tail
She is the most majestic being, this humpback whale
This is the realization, that for the fate of our future
We must do all we can to make sure we don’t lose her