Nicodemus Wilderness Project -- Global Registry of Apprentice Ecologists

Apprentice Ecologist Essay

Every minute a sack of fast-food trash gets thrown from a vehicle's window. Did you know that 33% of all littered garbage is fast food waste? Styrofoam containers take more than 1 million years to decompose (Missouri Dept. of Transportation). It takes 200-500 years for aluminum cans to biodegrade of which these make-up 28% of incorrectly disposed trash (Missouri Dept. of Transportation). Littering doesn't help the environment but most importantly it hurts humans as well, as it results in the deterioration of our planet. Reversing neighborhood litter and pollutants back to green environments is very important to me, and that is why I became a member of the Cary Spruce Program.

For my Apprentice Ecologist Project I worked with the Cary Spruce Program(CSP), whose mission is to connect citizens to beautification, litter reduction, and environmental service projects in our community. As a member we do many things including, bi-annual town wide litter sweeps, garden projects, tree plantings, outdoor improvement projects in public places and neighborhood scale sweeps. We try to spread awareness of the importance of taking care of our environment and how it is each of our responsibilities.

My most recent environmental service project with CSP was to pick up litter at Middle Creek Park, a local park near my house. I walked through the woods looking for old baseballs, bottles, cans, paper, wrappers, and Styrofoam cups. Alone I filled up two XL size garbage bags, one of the most interesting things I found was a can that said, "Win a trip for two to on a Caribbean cruise enter by 9/13/02. I was amazed that the can had sat on the forest floor or 14 years and could have decayed there another 400 years if it wasn't for me. Finding the can made me think about the hundreds of other cans scattered around my community who are waiting for someone who cares to pick them up and properly dispose of them. A creeping decline and neglect of local green space can be halted, and I realized that I was making a difference thought my commitment and continuous small scale action.

My Apprentice Ecologist essay has taught me many things, like the relationship that humans have with the earth and how it is our responsibility to take care of the communities where we live. I have learned that looking after green spaces isn't just about nature, it's about caring for people as well. For example, local parks, fields, and woods are great places to give young people learning experiences that they cannot get in a classroom. They're great places for growing fresh healthy food and bringing people together to share the work and share the harvest.

Margaret Mead once said, "Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed it's the only thing that ever has". This quote has inspired me and my family to devote our time and effort into keeping our community clean and green in hopes of inspiring others to do the same.