The St. Paul 4-H Club went “green” this week to promote cleanair.

Ten young club members of St. Paul M.B. Church delivered morethan 40 plants to seven Brookhaven preschools and nurseriesTuesday. The plants were chosen from a list of varieties mostefficient in purifying polluted air, said Reid Nevins, county 4-Hyouth agent.

“The plants help to improve air quality as well as make theenvironment beautiful,” he said.

Club members delivered the plants and explained to the studentsthat they would provide cleaner air and make breathing easier. Thestudents then guided them on where to place the plants at theencouragement of the teachers.

Some of the plants were donated by a member of the MasterGardeners and local plant nurseries gave some pots, Nevins said.The rest were purchased using $300 in grant funding.

The grant originated in Hancock County after Hurricane Katrinadevastated a large swath of the Gulf Coast, he said.

Dr. Bill Wolverton, a retired NASA scientist, completed a studyshowing how much of the coastal air could be purified ofcontaminants from the aftermath of the storm by planting specificvarieties of plants in the region, Nevins said.

A Hancock County 4-H club used Wolverton’s research for aproject to pot plants and distribute them to schools in the Biloxiarea.