Environment

"Knowing that oil could pollute the groundwater, people in the community got together and had an oil collecting facility put in at the landfill. Now people can take their used oil there instead of dumping it in an unsafe manner. This kind of program shows that we are beginning to take responsibility for our environment."

Michelle Berens, Colby High School, Colby, Kansas

"I feel that despite the general apathy of the nation towards conserving the earth, Austin has accepted the responsibility and tried to stay ahead of the national standards. We have campaigned against all types of pollution, and in favor of conservation and recycling. I don't think that this means that we are more responsible people, only that we understand how to accept responsibility, and act upon it as individuals and as a community."

Lesley Bitting, David Crockett High School, Austin, Texas

"In Ashland, Oregon, a group of Girl Scouts took on the task of reminding citizens that it is the responsibility of everyone to keep streams safe and healthy for people and wildlife. This group of girls spray painted the silhouette of a fish and a warning not to dump hazardous waste by city street drains, which emptied directly into a local creek."

Mike Godfrey, Phoenix High School, Phoenix, Oregon

"The students at Cook-Wissahickon Elementary School in Philadelphia are doing their part to help the environment and at the same time their community. They have worked collecting cans and paper, and used them to build a house to be donated to a recycling company that has a project for the homeless."

Kristi Meyer, Seaman High School, Topeka, Kansas

"In 1987, 25 students at Coral High School in Coral Springs, Florida, formed a club. They called the club Save What's Left. Today they have more than 200 members, and similar programs have been started in six other area schools, including junior high and elementary schools. Students have cleaned up canals and beaches, developed local tree-preservation laws, and created a nature preserve on land next to the high school. They've applied for a municipal grant to design a nature park and education pavilion in the preserve."

Nick Dixon, Freeman High School, Rockford, Washington

"The ecology club at Petaluma High School in California cleaned up Adobe Creek, which contained ten tons of junk, and built a fish hatchery. By doing this the group learned the importance of not polluting and keeping the Earth clean."

Jennifer Waddell, Rock Hill Senior High School, Ironton, Ohio

"The school I attend is one of the oldest educational institutions in the area. Originally as a boarding school, a nearby spring was used for doing laundry and other purposes. The desire of our school to restore the original site was combined with the city's need for a park. My local FFA Chapter has worked after school, on weekends, and during the summer to restore the area to its original status, and at the same time provide the city with a useful park. In my opinion, this is truly an example of responsible citizenship. Tax dollars were saved, a service was provided to the community, and students learned the joy that comes from helping others and being a responsible citizen."

Tim Moore, Valley Springs High School, Valley Springs, Arkansas

"My dad told me about a Christmas tree farm that takes trees back after Christmas to turn them into mulch to use as fertilizer. They then give you a tree sapling to plant in your own yard."

Laurel Wess, Garnet Valley High School, Glen Mills, Pennsylvania

"Another example of a good thing that is happening deals with the people of New Mexico, who get together every spring to clean out the irrigation ditches in their area. These people have been doing this for the past three centuries, and have never once received help from the government or taken money to help them with the clean up. This goes to show that if people put together a community operation, they can get much more done without the help of the government."

Cheril Sundheim, Froid High School, Froid, Montana

"Another excellent example is when the Inland Northwest Wildlife Council in Washington decided to donate over 10,000 hours and spend thousands of donated funds to help wildlife conservation. Some activities they did included assisting the Washington

Wildlife Department in capturing elk calves in the spring so they could be fitted with radios for a study on elk calf mortality. And in Lincoln County, they helped restore vegetation, stabilize banks, and increase the waterfowl nesting habitat in Wilson and Crab Creeks. ...They hand-carried a water tank into a roadless area on Chewelah Peak for wildlife."

Nick Dixon, Freeman High School, Rockford, Washington

"Last year, in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, a seventeen-year-old girl was seen walking down a nearly deserted highway, trash bag in hand. It was a Saturday afternoon and the girl was voluntarily picking up roadside litter just to beautify our environment. She could have been out with friends, at a party, or simply driving around. But she responsibly chose to do something that would benefit everyone, not just herself."

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