MINI MARCH — Third grade West Side student Matisse (center) holds up a cardboard dwarf gecko during the school’s endangered species march on Feb. 18.
On Feb. 18, around 170 West Side School students staged a brief protest and blocked the street in front of the school to march in support of saving endangered species.
Students each chose a different animal to represent and created large masks and puppets for each animal.
West Side School Principal Kris Menlove led the line of students to the front of the school to the beat of a large drum while kids chanted, “Save the artic,” and “Save the ocean.”
Teachers and parent volunteers carried colorful hand-made signs with phrases such as “Roar,” and “Help Us,” and “Care for animals.”
Third grade students Matisse, Mateo and Peyton, talked about their endangered animals before lining up for the march.
Matisse and Mateo both represented the turquoise dwarf gecko, while Peyton got a leopard gecko.
“They are really cool because they are an exotic color and we really just want to save the endangered species,” Matisse said. “They are losing their habitat because people are cutting down their forests.”
The artwork, along with a video of the West Side protest, will be included in the Healdsburg Center for the Arts Young Artists Exhibit, which focuses on the theme of endangered animals.
The exhibit, which launches Feb. 28, will also feature art from Alexander Valley School, Fitch Mountain School, Healdsburg Elementary School, Sonoma Country Day School, St. John’s Catholic School and the Healdsburg School.
— Katherine Minkiewicz
