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NWP Global Registry of Apprentice Ecologists - Neutral Zone(teen Center), Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA

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4676467646764676467646764676467646764676n1246980639_30485453_8223
Neutral Zone(teen Center), Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA
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sterlingskupinski



Registered: December 2008
City/Town/Province: Ann Arbor
Posts: 1
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I originally tried to create a garden at the Neutral Zone, Ann Arbors Teen Center, to help change a barren garbage pile in the parking lot to something that looked decent. After petitioning the board and the Director of the Neutral Zone, I finally got funding and the plot of land. As soon as the weather was bearable, I started asking and petitioning local businesses for shovels, plants and what ever else we could get, to my surprise, we got at least 100 dollars worth of donations. With help from several community members, we built a frame and got donated compost from the city, after 2 months of hard outdoor work, as well as intensively petitioning locals, we finally had very beautiful garden for the teens.
As time went by, I noticed that the Neutral Zone was not as ‘green’ as it should be, as well as the local community. The zone did not recycle much, there was not compost disposal and the staff was careless about using paper. Once again, I set out to do something about it, first by talking with the people in charge of the Neutral Zone to get permission to actually start a group, and then by asking the Teen Advisory Council (they are in charge of all program funding) for enough money to start our project. Green Groups main focus is to educate peers on environmentally friendly practices, as well as help the environment directly by planting trees and gardens. To make a long process of bureaucracy short, we got the money, and started on our first project by buying a hundred reusable bags that we will print on and then sell at local stores, the profits from the bags will be used to buy trees for the local area.
As of right now, we are working with the city of Ann Arbor to compost our biodegradable waste. We also started to work with TerraCycle to recycle food wrappers which will be turned into bags. We have asked local businesses to donate, and have heard from Wholefoods and TraderJoe’s who have donated ‘green’ cleaning supplies to the Neutral Zone in order to replace all the hazardous and harmful cleaners. We have also heard from several local musicians, and now Green Group is going to put on a concert that will benefit the environment directly. The Green Group has received a lot of help and interest from the community, but we will not stop until the Neutral Zone and its teens are as green as can be!
· Date: December 28, 2008 · Views: 6904 · File size: 18.0kb, 74.8kb · : 604 x 453 ·
Hours Volunteered: 50
Volunteers: 2
Authors Age & Age Range of Volunteers: 16 to 17
Area Restored for Native Wildlife (hectares): 0.1
Trash Removed/Recycled from Environment (kg): 2
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