26 | MAY 18 • 2023 

A 

big yellow bus rolled 
into the Hillel Day 
School parking lot to 
the awe and delight of young stu-
dents. This bus was no ordinary 
yellow bus; it was the Topsy-
Turvy Bus, designed to look like 
an upside-down bus plopped on 
top of a rightside-up bus. 
The trip to the school on 
Friday, April 21, marked the bus’ 
2023 debut and served as the 
star of the school’s Earth Day 
program. Hundreds of students 
visited the bio-fuel bus through-
out the day as part of an event 
sponsored by the school’s newly 
formed Green Club. The bus is 
owned and operated by Adamah 
Detroit (formerly Hazon 
Detroit). 
Children as young as 2 years 
old up through seventh grade 
climbed aboard to learn about 

Earth Day, the environment 
and creative ways to protect the 
Earth, such as using alternative 
and renewable fuel. Student 
volunteers from the Green Club 
helped younger students board 
the bus and return to their class-
rooms. 
“The Topsy-Turvy Bus is a 
mobile classroom designed to 
spark the imaginations of the 
next generation and help connect 
our people and planet behind 
a collective purpose. Adamah 
Detroit is so glad to have been 
able to share this experience with 
so many Hillel students,
” said Ari 
Cohen, program coordinator for 
Adamah Detroit. 
A special guest also visited 
the school along with the bus: 
author Anita Pazner, who wrote 
a children’s book called The 
Topsy-Turvy Bus, inspired by the 

bus and its mission to promote 
sustainable practices. The book 
follows the story of two kids who 
learn about using vegetable oil 
for fuel, a bike-powered blender, 
organic farming and garbage- 
eating worms. 
Pazner met with fourth-grad-
ers to share her experience writ-
ing the book and what inspired 
her to craft the story. She signed 
copies of the book as students 
shared their favorite part of the 
story. 
“I liked that there was a 
smoothie blender bike,
” said 
fourth-grader Noam Vered. 
The Earth Day event kicked 
off a week of composting at the 
school. The Topsy-Turvy Bus 
program and composting efforts 
were all part of the Green Club’s 
sustainability efforts, made pos-
sible by winning two grants this 
school year: one from Adamah 
and another one from the Detroit 
Zoological Society’s GreenPrize.
“During Green Club, I have 
learned about many things: com-

posting, recycling, the Topsy-
Turvy Bus and, most impor-
tantly, how I love to see others 
happy about helping our world. 
Composting has brought on joy, 
and learning and I’m so thank-
ful,
” said Ally Berman, a sixth- 
grader who has participated in all 
of the club’s activities. 
Getting the bus around town 
was no small feat. Adamah 
enlisted the help of an experi-
enced truck driver, who noted 
that the bus is very top heavy and 
can be challenging to maneuver. 
It was out of commission for 
several months due to the bus 
hitting a low-hanging branch late 
last year. 
The Topsy-Turvy Bus is used 
as a traveling classroom for 
Jewish children in the Detroit 
area. It will continue to travel 
around, teaching children and 
adults about sustainability. Will 
the bus come to your neigh-
borhood? Maybe, but only if 
the trees along the street are 
trimmed. 

OUR COMMUNITY

Hillel students climb on board 
just in time for Earth Day.

The Topsy- 
Turvy Bus 
Runs Again

LAURA PASEK CONTRIBUTING WRITER

PHOTOS COURTESY OF HILLEL

Preschoolers through sev-
enth graders got to visit the 
bus. LEFT: The Topsy-Turvy 
Bus rolled into the Hillel 
parking lot to celebrate 
Earth Day.

Hillel students check out 
the Topsy-Turvy Bus.

