Nicodemus Wilderness Project -- Global Registry of Apprentice Ecologists

In 2022, with the school environmental club, I hosted two trash pickups, one in March and the other in October. We met after school and split into groups covering the area around our school all the way to the middle school next door. At the end, we came back together to see our big bags full of trash and to take them to the dumpsters. We also began an Adopt-a-Stream project for a stream near the school. In November, we walked to the stream and met with people from the local environmental protection association. They taught us which plants were non-native and how to remove them. Then, they gave us native plants to plant in the place of the non-native ones. I initially became interested in the environment through my sixth grade research project on algal blooms and water pollution in the Chesapeake Bay. I started the environmental club in my freshman year of high school, but as soon as the club was up and running, the pandemic hit. In online school, I pushed for the club to keep running but with online meetings. While I had many ideas for projects, we weren't able to do much due to the constraints of a remote world. This year and last year the club was finally able to do everything I had hoped and more. The trash pickups were a highlight of my year because it feels really good to make a visible impact. Before the pickups, the grounds of our school were littered with trash from the nearby shopping center along with other common sources. Much of this trash is plastic that, if we had not picked it up, could have contaminated local waterways. From there, they could have made it all the way to the Chesapeake Bay. About 8 million tons of plastic waste escapes into the oceans from coastal nations. While plastic materials break down in the water, it is not a productive form of biodegradation. They release tiny particles called microplastics which then sneak into the diets of many aquatic animals. These ingested microplastics can block airways and disrupt bodily functions. In addition to the impact on animals, due to the integration of aquatic animals such as fish into human diets, microplastics make their way into human body systems. Recently, a study found the first indication of microplastics in human blood. There is not much available research on the impact of microplastics on human health, but the bioaccumulation of plastics and other chemicals in the human body continues. Scientists believe that in the coming years babies will be born with plastic in them. After the trash pickups, there is an obvious difference in the appearance of the school grounds. I am happy to contribute to the aesthetics of the campus, as I believe that our school environment should be clean and safe. It also just makes people feel better when their school is not covered in trash. A lot of the trash was found closer to the middle school, so many middle school students would walk by and inquire about our activities. Many times, they were surprised by our presence. I hope that our commitment has inspired them a little to be more interested in environmental issues and join the club once they get to high school. On the other hand, the stream adoption project gets less visual recognition since it is not as open. The stream is slightly nested in the woods near a convenience store down the street from the school. Still, it is a super impactful project because of the positive impact on the ecosystem. This project has inspired me in many ways. Even though I had already been interested in environmental engineering as a career path, this project helped me understand more of what areas I want to work in. In all the recent talks about the importance of systemic solutions, I think people tend to forget the importance of the work done in the meantime. There should be litter prevention efforts, but there is a lot of litter that has already been created that needs to be cleaned up now. I want to keep being involved in ground work such as trash pickups and ecosystem management because it is just as important as legislative and innovative work. Now, as we move into 2023, the club is working on more ecological projects. The stream adoption project gave us a foundation for our next native plant project. We are raising funds and resources in order to install a native plant garden right outside of our school. I am really glad that I have had the opportunity to conduct an Apprentice Ecologist project because it was an amazing opportunity to make an impact on the community while having a lot of fun with my friends. I cannot wait to take what I have learned and put it to good use doing environmental work throughout the rest of my life.