Nicodemus Wilderness Project
Nicodemus Wilderness Project
About Us Projects Education Links Volunteers Membership  
Nicodemus Wilderness Project

 
 

NWP Global Registry of Apprentice Ecologists - Gem State Adventist Academy, Caldwell, Idaho, USA

« ++ ·
http://www.wildernessproject.org/apprentice_ecologist/data/500/thumbs/12261122611226112261122611226112261122611226112261Surfrider_Picture_1.JPG
<<
12260122601226012260122601226012260122601226012260257486_10150280349436228_690476227_9155363_6075533
<
http://www.wildernessproject.org/apprentice_ecologist/data/500/thumbs/12257122571225712257122571225712257122571225712257Apprentice_Ecologist_Initiative1.jpg
·
http://www.wildernessproject.org/apprentice_ecologist/data/500/thumbs/12255122551225512255122551225512255122551225512255IMG_0025.jpg
>
http://www.wildernessproject.org/apprentice_ecologist/data/500/thumbs/12237122371223712237122371223712237122371223712237Picture11.jpg
>>
· ++ »

12257122571225712257122571225712257122571225712257Apprentice_Ecologist_Initiative1
Gem State Adventist Academy, Caldwell, Idaho, USA

Afc2012



Registered: December 2011
City/Town/Province: Boise
Posts: 1
View this Member's Photo Gallery
As a senior at Gem State Adventist Academy, I have learned through my previous years at high school what leaders and examples to other students that upperclassmen are. That is why during our fall Pride Day my class decided to work as hard as we could to help ensure the classes that followed us would put as much effort and work into helping clean our environment. Pride Day is a day my entire school gets involved and cleans up our community; sometimes on campus, others off, but always contributing to a cleaner territory. Doing this and classifying it as participating in an Apprentice Ecologist project helps make certain in my mind that there will be a continuing sense of student leadership from class to class, while also having a cleaner home for us and others to enjoy.
My project took place in two locations in Caldwell, Idaho. The first was on the roadside of busy Highway 55, and the other was on my school campus at 16115 S. Montana Avenue. The roadside was a stretch about a mile or two alongside the highway that covered a lot of farmland and planting fields. At the school, we tromped back to the track that had been overtaken by weeds and thistles taller than we were. It was a very sunny and warm day with a blissful breeze that we were all very thankful to have.
On the highway, the seniors dawned their orange vests and set out on different segments of the road in groups of three, picking up whatever trash crossed our paths. Each group filled up two or three large garbage bags with all sorts of rubbish that was polluting the fields and farmland that surrounded the highway. Back at the school the daunting task of clearing the track was up next. Last year a student created our track as their senior project, and due to lack of funding, it’s a pretty simple, standard, lumpy dirt track. Unfortunately over the summer there wasn’t any additional care for our track and all sorts of weeds and thistles took it completely over, some measuring in at over six feet tall! The weeds made our track unusable, so all the school- with the exception of the seniors who were out on the road- came together and pulled out all the weeds in four hours. That was a lot of work for a mere 75 students!
It is important for all these cleanup activities to be done because it shows a sense of pride and respect for our environment and community. If everyone were to disregard the earth, then we’d be living in a very dingy, dirty home that would be covered with sickness and disease simply because of being unclean. For those reasons we tackled Highway 55 and made it as rid of trash as we possibly could. Also by taking care of our school we recognize the work of others and the importance of maintaining the work that has already been done in the keeping clean of invasive weeds and other unwelcome harmful vegetation.
This project had several benefits. We were able to uplift the appearance of our school and make our little track usable again so that elementary school kids can continue to come participate in our Sports Day we host every year. Also by having a track we can possibly extend our Athletic Department into having a Track & Field or Cross Country teams in the future. When we cleaned up Highway 55, we were not only able to improve the appearance of our roadways, but also to help out the farmers. You know that when tossed out newspapers, bottles, cigarettes, and other rubbish is thrown from car windows onto their plants, their crops are suffering. When Gem State Academy students go around and pick up the trash, we help preserve their plants and help them produce better local food that is safer for everyone to eat.
By doing these projects, it has helped made me aware of how many different areas the planet needs help being cleaned in. There are a plethora of activities we can do to help clean up and maintain the shine of the planet. The best part is, most of these activities aren’t pain-staking or long and you don’t have to go out of your way to do them. You just have to pick a day to go help out when you have the time to do so. In the future I plan to continue doing the roadside cleanup program because taking four hours of your day every few months is definitely an easy and ever-so helpful task that creates a cleaner planet. Also I plan to do day to day activities like recycling my pop cans or plastic bottles at my local recycling center. By students taking responsibility and being leaders of the community and taking time to rebuild our habitat, we can all bond together and live in harmony in a healthy, clean environment.
· Date: December 28, 2011 · Views: 3326 · File size: 37.6kb · : 350 x 263 ·
Hours Volunteered: 400
Volunteers: 100
Authors Age & Age Range of Volunteers: 17 & 14 to 18
Print View