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NWP Global Registry of Apprentice Ecologists - Earth Day Clean-Up, North Hills, California, United States

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Earth Day Clean-Up, North Hills, California, United States
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tania93



Registered: October 2010
City/Town/Province: north hills
Posts: 1
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I live in a very urban community, where most people have no respect for their surroundings. A person walks on the sidewalk carrying some item in his/her hand such as a Popsicle or toy, moments later the item becomes useless and the person releases his/her grasp from it. The item(s) land on the sidewalk, adding to the strands of trash on the neighborhood.
The trash eventually disappears, although not through man’s help, but rather with the help of nature. You see when it rains the trash on the streets and sidewalks get washed up into the gutters and into the ocean. As you may already know, trash that ends up in the ocean can devastate marine life. Trash such as plastic bags and bottle can injure a creature if it comes in contact with the trash. Also, the trash can infiltrate ecosystems such as coral reefs.
After years of witnessing such ignorance, I realized I needed to do something to change the bad habits of my neighbors. Therefore, I decided to reveal to them the beauty that was hidden underneath their trash. With a clean neighborhood we would attain some respect from visitors or by-passers.
My plan of attack was to take picture of our filthy streets and later take a picture our clean neighborhood. Then, requested the help of my family for the clean up of the intersections between Rayen and Orion as well as the intersection between Rayen and Langdon. Once we cleaned this up, I took a picture. The pictures I took were printed and pasted onto a large poster that I took across my neighborhood to show my neighbors how much better our image would be if we kept our streets were clean.
Approximately two days after the clean-up, and three days after the photos were taken, I put on some formal clothes and marched to each of my neighbors’ apartments. It was a long and agonizing process. Most people would not even listen to what I had to present or say to them; therefore I decided I needed to give them some incentives for their cooperation. I knew that food was the best incentive, people love to eat, so I made some homemade tamales (I live in a predominantly Latino area). Tamales seemed like the best option for they don’t require plastic wrap and can be made with few ingredients, this meal was both cheap and eco-gastronomic (I’m a fan of “slow food”).
My first attempt at luring listeners and supporters failed, but my second attempt reached success. With my tamales beside, I knew people would not resist me. I knocked on each door and people would open the door at the smell of my tamales. Then they would ask, “How much”, and I would say to them, “just hear me out and you’ll get one for free”. So they would listen and look at my poster while I spoke to them about the benefits of not littering. Ultimately, I got my message across; I even gave them a brief introduction to slow food cooking.
Date: December 9, 2010 Views: 5592 File size: 41.1kb, 1003.7kb : 1600 x 1200
Hours Volunteered: 115
Volunteers: 23
Authors Age & Age Range of Volunteers: 17 & 5 to 43
Trash Removed/Recycled from Environment (kg): 10.4
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