When it comes to observing Earth Day next Tuesday, students and their parents at Hearst Elementary School have to go no farther than to their new outdoor classroom and science teacher Kim Lounsbury. Affectionately called the Queen of Green and a teacher for the last 12 years, she has the responsibility of teaching science to the school's 604 first- to fifth-graders. Planet Earth is her favorite topic so Earth Day gives her a chance to talk about one of her biggest passions, the outdoor garden classroom she is building just outside the school lunchroom. She started the project when Hearst and its principal Mike Kuhfal embraced the school district's "Go Green" environmental program. After several years of hard work, it's taking shape.

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