Dade's environmental police turned out in force Monday.

Nearly 800 Enviro-Cops from Auburndale Elementary marched four blocks from the school to the Dade County Auditorium, celebrating the fourth anniversary of a program that teaches kids about safety, conservation and the power of education. After reaching the auditorium, the Auburndale students were joined by another 1,800 kids from schools all over Dade County. They watched skits, heard songs and listened to speeches by Dade State Attorney Kathryn Fernandez Rundle and Metro police director Fred Taylor, among others.

"Being an Enviro-Cop is a 24-hour-a-day job," said Aleida Enriquez, 9, a fifth-grader at Auburndale, 3255 SW Sixth St. "You always have to be looking, telling people not to pollute."

"Officer" Areyls Casas, 10, takes her enviro-enforcement home with her. "My family polluted a lot, especially my brother," Areyls said. "I talked to them, and they finally straightened up."

Enviro-Cops were started in 1989 by activist Edmund Benson and his wife, Susan, who taught hearing-impaired children at Auburndale. Each year, second-graders in Dade are "deputized" to become part of the program. Volunteer Enviro-Mentors, many of them high school and college students, spend one hour a week with the "cops," teaching a special curriculum developed by the Bensons.

Beside the environment, it focuses on self-esteem, success and teaching kids how to protect themselves. The parade and awards ceremony have become an annual event, a way for the kids to celebrate what they've learned and meet other students who have been learning the same things.

"They work hard all year long," Edmund Benson said. "This is their day, and our day to recognize people who have made the program a success."

The morning parade started at Auburndale, because it was the first school to use the program. Led by a U.S. Coast Guard Color Guard and the Edison High marching band, the parade also featured Billy the Marlin, Metro commissioner Dennis Moss, fire trucks, police motorcycles and horses and hundreds of kids, some of them in wheelchairs.

"For our kids, it's like the cherry on the ice cream," said Auburndale teacher Millie Puig.

They walked down Flagler Street, stopping traffic, and marched gleefully to the auditorium where bus after bus let out kids from as far away as Avocado and Springview elementary schools.

"It was hot walking over here," said Auburndale student Ryon Kelly, 10. "But we do this because we love the environment."

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