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NWP Global Registry of Apprentice Ecologists - Pidgeon Hill Road, Wantage, New Jersey, USA

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Pidgeon Hill Road, Wantage, New Jersey, USA
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Rachel2525



Registered: December 2008
Posts: 1
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It was early morning as I sat on the bus, close to the cold window on the way to school. I lived in a rural area and looked out to find farm fields, houses and patches of forest that covered the landscape. On this particularly dull fall morning my eyes seemed to catch more of the brightly colored curbside litter than usual. Today it did more than blend in with its surroundings, instead it stuck out like a sore thumb. As I became more observant of the trash littered ground I wondered how this affected the ecosystems and wildlife in the area and what could be done about it.
As a sophomore in high school and the founder and president of the environmental club I researched clean –ups and devised a plan. Fortunately for us, we have a program called the Wantage Clean Green that encourages roadside clean-ups in the township of Wantage with incentives and supplies. They were willing to pay $6 per person per hour, re-reimburse us for mileage and trash disposal and supply us with bags, gloves and orange safety vests.
The Wantage Clean Green was a tremendous help to us and I knew I had rally up enough students to really make an impact. On the day of the clean-up over 30 eager students showed up ready to help and get dirty. All of us were astonished at what we found in the woods adjacent to our high school campus. It was more than the typical soda can and McDonald's bag. We found paint cans, tires, baby toys, appliances, furniture and a shopping cart! We took some of the most interesting finds and put them on the front lawn of the school so everyone could see the result of our clean-up as they walked off the bus that morning.
Not only did it raise awareness in the entire school about littering but also the students that volunteered that day said they would never throw trash out the window again. We raised over $400 dollars and used it to hire a world-renowned speaker, Miriam McGillis, to come and talk to several hundred students on the importance of clean habitats and respecting nature.
The clean-up was so successful that I organized another one my sophomore year of college. This time we only had 13 volunteers but we gathered even more trash and recycling than before! This time we donated almost $200 to a non-profit organization called Kids Camp that teaches young students from the city Newark, NJ the basics of ecology by bringing them out to see the wilderness sometimes for the first time in their life.
Clean-ups are a great, fun way to teach, learn, and instill the importance of keeping ecosystems clean for our own health, and the health of our planet.
· Date: December 12, 2008 · Views: 7068 · File size: 25.1kb, 82.5kb · : 360 x 270 ·
Hours Volunteered: 15
Volunteers: 47
Authors Age & Age Range of Volunteers: 14 to 40
Area Restored for Native Wildlife (hectares): 4
Trash Removed/Recycled from Environment (kg): 2700
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gismaili

Registered: December 2008
City/Town/Province: Clearwater
Posts: 1
December 26, 2008 11:41am

Very inspiring!