Merrifield Child Development Academy released more than 3,000 ladybugs into the environment in honor of Earth Day at a celebration at the school last Friday.

In the days leading up to Earth Day, students at the school were learned about how helpful ladybugs can be to the environment. Ladybugs feed on aphids (plant lice) and other insects that are harmful to gardens, trees and shrubs.

In an e-mail to the News-Press about the event, Merrifield Child Development Academy director Sedi Bruce said that the school teaches its students about “the importance of our planet Earth and exploring nature at a young age.”