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NWP Global Registry of Apprentice Ecologists - Erie Bayfront, Erie, Pennsylvania, USA

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Erie Bayfront, Erie, Pennsylvania, USA
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Julia96



Registered: December 2014
City/Town/Province: Harborcreek
Posts: 1
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Since I can remember, I have had an interest in saving the environment. As a child, I loved polar bears and was upset to find out that their numbers are dwindling. In recent years, I have been even more interested in the environment, from reading articles on the internet to sewing my own reusable snack bags. I chose to run a trash cleanup on the bayfront after seeing the large amount of trash there. My father runs a marina on the bayfront in Erie, Pennsylvania. The cleanup was based there and went about a quarter mile in each direction. I called my project Cleanup By the Bay.
To accomplish my project, I had to plan and run the event. To plan the event I contacted many local businesses and asked for donations or to come and set up a booth at the event showcasing their business. I wrote a sponsor letter and mailed them to many businesses. My family and I hung flyers around at local businesses and community centers. The local newspaper, The Erie Times, called me and put a short article about the event in the newspaper. I upcycled items to use as door prizes, such as sewing a reusable grocery bag out of a cat food bag and using tin cans for plants. I contacted the local Sea Grant and was able to get donations of bags, gloves, and collection sheets from them. The Sheraton Hotel donated food and set up a booth showcasing the environmentally friendly aspects of their hotel. A green cleaning supply company came to clean up trash and to hand out business cards. I also created all of the decorations, such as signs pointing where to go, out of waste materials. I designed and got t-shirts printed for the event. During my project, we collected twenty-five bags of garbage and recyclables. The recyclables were taken to a recycling plant. The day of the event, July 12th, was a beautiful, sunny day and was a week after the Fourth of July. The bayfront area is notorious in Erie for watching fireworks and spending time with family and friends during the holiday. I am very proud of the amount of trash we picked up. It not only is good for the environment, it is also better for the city because it makes it look nicer.
I think it is very important to take care of Erie’s bayfront for several reasons. The bayfront is an area that is used by a lot of people, both natives and tourists. It says a lot about a city if it is clean or if it is covered with litter. There are also a lot of animals that are down on the bayfront, especially birds such as seagulls and ducks. If the animals eat the trash, they can become sick and die. The trash often lands in the water, which can be eaten by fish and pollutes the city’s water supply. I was inspired to do this cleanup after seeing the amount of trash that was on land and in the water on the bayfront.
Next year I will start college and major in environmental science. This sort of project allowed me to get a hands on look at the environmental trouble that my community faces. Cleanup By the Bay opened my eyes to what can be accomplished by determined people to better the community. Not only did I learn about the environment, I also learned valuable skills that are necessary for planning an event. I had to communicate with a wide variety of people, make sure everything was in line, and be responsible for everything that was going on. The whole responsibility was on my shoulders, which is different from any other situation I’ve been in. Also because of this event, I got to make connections with people who are passionate about the environment as well.
This event solidified the choice that I made to go into environmental science. I believe that I really can make a difference, and I hope this event was the first of many things I will do to aid the environment.
· Date: December 29, 2014 · Views: 4656 · File size: 17.1kb, 2065.9kb · : 4320 x 3240 ·
Hours Volunteered: 78
Volunteers: 26
Authors Age & Age Range of Volunteers: 18 & 4 to 65
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