Clayton -- Cooper Elementary School students escaped the confines of their classrooms recently to explore nature and interact with local businesses.

The Parent Teacher Association, Kiwanis of Clayton and the Johnston County Partnership for Children sponsored the first Community-Health Day and Fun Run fund-raiser last week. By last Thursday, the event had raised $8,500 toward the PTA’s goal of $10,000. Cooper aims to apply for a grant that the county could match with another $10,000.

“We have had a great response,” said PTA member Brian Hale. “It is great for the community to understand Cooper, and we can demonstrate who we are.”

Students checked out fire trucks, police cars and ambulances and listened to professionals and government officials talk about the benefits of healthy living. To round out the event, students walked through a nature trail on the school’s property.

Kristy Kolorman, who teaches second grade, took her students on the trail last Thursday afternoon. Two of her students, Natasha Toledo, 7, and Tristan Thomsen, 8, said they loved stomping through the nature trail. While learning about trees, the youngsters also found hidden Easter eggs.

Kolorman had asked her students to name the kinds of trees on the nature trail.

Toledo squealed with excitement as she correctly guessed the last tree on the trail. “It was a white oak tree,” she said. “I said, ‘It’s white and it’s oak.’ It wasn’t hard for me. It was fun.”

Thomsen, on the other hand, found the task challenging. “I don’t actually study about trees,” he said. “The trees wouldn’t give you an answer, so you had to figure it out.”

After the 30-minute walk, students drank juice and munched on cookies before meeting vendors. Among them were the Johnston County YMCA, Nationwide Insurance Co., Kindermusik of Clayton and Re/Max Classic Realty. Most passed out goody bags filled with candy, flyers and pencils.

Lisa McLaurin, marketing coordinator for Johnston Memorial Hospital, gave the students coloring books and stickers. She played educational videos and encouraged the youngsters to be safe. For example, they should never take medicine without an adult’s permission, she said.

“A lot of medicines look like candy,” McLaurin said. “You have to be careful with that kind of stuff.”

A few booths down, Heidi Berge, coordinator of community outreach for the Partnership for Children, used a puppet mouse to give the children balloons. The mouse represented a character from the book “If You Give a Mouse a Cookie” by Laura Joffe Numeroff. Parents can pick up educational kits filled with books and corresponding toys through the organization.

“If a child reads a book, they don’t forget that book and the characters in the book,” Berge said. “The kits help reading come to life and gives the child an early experience with reading.”