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.