PENFIELD, N.Y. (WROC) — A new book is out from now retired teacher turned author Lou Anne DaRin.

Titled “Mrs. Green Loves the Earth”, the book follows a classroom getting ready for a science fair, and learning about what they can do to protect the planet along the way.

DaRin retired in 2019 after 30 years of teaching, 25 of which were spent at Cobbles Elementary School in Penfield. She’s continued working to teach and educate but now outside of the classroom.

“Once I retired then I got very active in our local color Penfield Green group and my church’s environmental group which is called Mother Earth,” said DaRin.

Her turn to environmentalism didn’t start after she left the classroom either.

“I’ve just always cared a lot about the environment, and you tend to work into the curriculum things that are important to you, even if it might not be really exactly part of the curriculum. So, in my classroom I always emphasized with the children not wasting, being careful, conserving paper,” said DaRin.

One of her lifelong goals was to write a children’s book but it had to be something with a message that could reach kids just like the ones she used to teach.

“I wanted to empower children to know they can do something even if it’s small. Even if it’s a simple thing like turning the water off when you’re brushing your teeth, everyone can make a difference,” said DaRin.

One of her other goals for the book is to create a ripple effect from the classroom to the adults in the students’ lives. As they are often the decision makers in the students’ lives.

“We need to do something yesterday and it’s going to affect this generation. I mean, the decisions that we’re making today. So, I think the more children know about it and kind of the more pressure they can put on the adults around them, the more change will happen,” said DaRin.

You can find the book, “Mrs. Green Loves the Earth”, on Amazon. Additionally if you or your organization is interested in hosting Lou Anne DaRin for a reading of the book, you can contact her at Ldarin13@gmail.com.