More than 3,000 Marines, civilians and their family members participated in events at Mary Fay Pendleton Elementary School and Pacific Plaza Commissary recognizing Earth Day.

The events started at Mary Fay Camp Pendleton Elementary School where more than 800 children gathered to win prizes from local businesses and listen to a special guest speaker from the governor’s office.

“What you are learning here with Earth Day will make you great leaders in the future, to make your country and your families proud,” said Cameron Durkle, the governor's representative in the San Diego office, during his speech to children at Mary Fay Pendleton Elementary School. “I want to thank everybody here today for what Camp Pendleton is doing and I will enjoy seeing the great things you all will be doing in the future.”

Earth Day started on April 22, 1970, when 20 million Americans took to the streets, parks and auditoriums to demonstrate for a healthy and sustainable environment, according to the Earth Day network Web site.

Today, the fight for a clean environment continues, as Camp Pendleton is greatly involved in preservation of the environment.

“I appreciate the great things that all of you are doing,” said Col. James B. Seaton III, commanding officer, Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton as he addressed children at the school. “The recycling center is taking in more than it has any other year, because of the great effort the folks are doing at Camp Pendleton.”

Mary Fay Camp Pendleton Elementary School and four other schools on Camp Pendleton held essay and project contests among its students to help support Earth Day.

“The contests topped off Camp Pendleton’s efforts and programs on environmental awareness,” said Daniel L. Felkins, environmental training manager, Assistant Chief of Staff Environmental Security, Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton. “It became something they internalized and something they wanted to be a part of.”

Local businesses handed out prizes, and raffled off two summer X-Games tickets, a bicycle, T-shirts and other prizes.

“I came out here to support Earth Day by letting everyone know how valuable our earth is to us and how to recycle, reuse and not abuse,” said Josh Gordon, professional skateboarder, who gave out prizes to the children at Mary Fay.

The Pacific Plaza Commissary also had an Earth Day Expo displaying children’s winning artwork, essays, wildlife and science exhibits and many free prizes. At the end of the expo, Bob Burnquist and other professional skateboarders showed tricks in a skateboarding demonstration.

Important information about Camp Pendleton’s environmental program was also displayed. 

This year, Camp Pendleton had a chance to intertwine with local environmental advisors and activists.

It is not very common for base environmental to be provided the opportunity to talk and share experience of things happening on base with local community, Felkins said.

“There was definitely mutual appreciation for what we did, they had no idea about school projects and Department of Defense spending hundreds of millions of dollars on the environmental preservation,” said Felkins.  “That was really inspiring to them because they didn’t know.”

Next year, the base’s Earth Day celebration is scheduled to be at the 52 Area parade deck and the focus will be on projects from children at Camp Pendleton schools.