chi-z09
Registered: December 2008
Posts: 1
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Beautify the Mabank Ballpark
The Mabank Ballpark is every kid’s summer hangout. Consisting of trails for joggers, four baseball diamonds, a couple of soccer fields, a volleyball court, a playground, and much more. Many birds, turtles, squirrels, and other small animals inhabit this area. It’s an over all family friendly place for people of all ages.
However, lately we’ve been having a problem. Citizens aren’t taking care of it like they should. I think it’s important to keep your town’s parks environmentally safe. Parks are a place where children play, and children shouldn’t participate in any activities near filthy and possibly physically harmful pollution.
So first off, my group and I picked up the litter under the bleachers, around the concession stand, and on the field. It was ridiculous how much trash was out there where kids actually play baseball. Imagine what the visiting teams from other cities must think. The way we represent ourselves includes the cleanliness of our fields. Unless you consider the safety hazard of tripping over an empty Gatorade bottle intimidation, I don’t think we would gain any respect with all this litter.
A long, deep creek runs through the park. Trash was under every tree root and rock. How careless of us to let conditions get so bad? Due to the excessive littering caused by many citizens, I was required to have an adult dispose of the remains of a mature red ear slider turtle. I have personally seen many young children wonder around in this creek to fetch softballs and Frisbees, or just simply playing hide-and-go-seek.
We were able to sort plastic, paper, and glass items into separate containers to be recycled later. Loads of glass and sharp plastic were picked up. We were sure to be tedious in this area. No more animals or children should be injured there because of lazy people throwing junk down there.
And just for the sake of having a neat looking park, we painted a good portion of the railing that surrounds most of the area a very hospitable shade of green. We also labeled the trashcans as to emphasize their existence. I’m sure locals have noticed the difference.
As spring draws near, I can now take pride in my ballpark, and I hope others will too. Just a small group of eleven to thirteen-year-olds made drastic progress in making our area more environmentally healthy. If more people would chip in, I know Mabank could be a green city. I believe it would be very easy for anyone in this part of Texas to contact a recycling company, be more aware of their eco footprint, and use the available trash disposal bins instead of littering.
My work wasn’t just for a chance at a scholarship. I will continue to do my best to go green. You’re never too young to make a difference. I’d like to thank the few friends that were willing to endure the extremely cold weather in-order to help out with this clean-up project (under thirty-five degrees). Our effort will help restore and protect the natural creek that runs through our park, and make it a more presentable area.
To the Apprentice Ecologist Initiative program, thank you for providing me with this opportunity and inspiring me to beautify the Mabank Ballpark. I have faith that this scholarship is igniting global warming awareness in the youth of America across the country.
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