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NWP Global Registry of Apprentice Ecologists - Celebration High School, Celebration, Florida, USA

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Celebration High School, Celebration, Florida, USA
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RichardsD



Registered: December 2010
City/Town/Province: celebration
Posts: 1
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Namaste. The small gathering of people uttered the word together before taking a slight bow and going into the sun salutation. Surrounded by only a few people in an otherwise uninhabited landscape, we were in the Bay of Fundy National Park in New Brunswick, Canada. A beautiful, stoic place, were the tides rush in and out daily. We had visited many similar National Parks, 98 to be exact, back stateside were it was an almost daily occurrence on our two year long escapade around the continent. Constantly switching between the chaos and craziness of the cities and the more peaceful national parks, I registered something. Each tide at the Bay of Fundy served a purpose, it brought in the new and washed away the old. The waves were like the changes that occur, and must occur in society. Each new generation brings in a new wave of ideas, some good, some too swept-up in the commotion of life to realize that they aren’t so good. If un-opposed, the wave of society would quickly rush in to the national parks, wiping away the last paradise, leaving a parking lot in its wake. Just by living on the earth we all have a commitment to help the world we live in and all of its inhabitants. Fulfilling this commitment is what started me on my path of community service, the need for it is so extreme, that really, it is the only right thing. Just as the sky is up, the ground is down, saying please and thank you, community service is the right thing to do. With each project I participated in I became more engulfed by a positive wave of change. Everyone involved is always so radiant, it is heart melting just being around them. Furthermore, every time you do something nice for a person, whether it be holding open a door, saying thank you, or helping them in a major time of need, you can see them visibly light up. A smile dances across their face as you help spread the joy of being connected. For the connection we share as human beings transcends all other connections, boyfriend, girlfriend, enemy, friend, mother, father, teacher, hater, lover, faker, we’re all humans. We all live on this planet together, and we’re all in it for the long run, so it only makes sense to help others. Maybe today I’ll help you, the next you’ll help me, and that’s the way its supposed to be, a circle of life, everyone helping and supporting our fellow humans.
My love for the environment and its inhabitants was further fostered when I had the incredible opportunity to attend a speech given by Al Gore at the Presidential Youth Inaugural Conference. It was an amazing opportunity, besides being a member of the sea of people on the mall when President Obama was inaugurated, we attended many leadership workshops and heard notable speakers. Al Gore’s speech encouraging us to do what needs to be done, was inspiring. Desmond Tutu’s speech reiterating the idea that it is young people that change the world, was empowering.
After returning from Super trek, I was drawn to Interact, my school’s community service club, my freshman year. After being freshman Interactor of the year and Vice President junior year, I took over as President of Interact, my senior year. Our biggest project this year was to set up a school wide recycling program.
Our high school, Celebration High School in Celebration, Florida had a less than impressive and basically non-existent recycling program in earlier years. For as long as I can remember our school has had a paper recycling program that consisted of a large recycling bin outside and smaller bins in every hall way that kids would throw all types of trash in to and the janitors would proceed to throw out in the regular trash, leaving the big bin outside, untouched and unfilled. The papers flew like planes both in, and out of the trash. So this year we recycled the randomly placed boxes of previous years with a box in each class room. Now, every Wednesday, a group of us, usually 10 to 15 members strong gathers in our sponsor’s room, before we disperse to collect the used paper and deposit it in the recycling dumpster. The paper planes of yesterday becomes money for the school. Eventually we would like to use the money earned from the old paper to buy hand dryers for the bathrooms so that we no longer have to waste paper towels. As of now we just recycle paper, but we are working towards expanding to collect all types of materials, including plastic and glass.
Recycling should always play a big part in our lives, but I think that it is especially important to have recycling programs in school so that the kids going to school will see that recycling is important and perhaps it will inspire them to recycle at home. If they start now, they will hopefully build life long habits of recycling and appreciating their earth. I know that my work on the project at school has inspired me, and my whole, family to become lifelong recyclers.
People are people, as different as each of us is, we are also very similar. We all live on the same planet, a planet that we need to appreciate and take care of, by reusing and recycling what we use from day to day, so future generations have the same beautiful planet to live on as we do. We are all connected as beings on the planet, we are all inhabited by the same good will to want to help, the same light that is in you is also in me, or as they say in India, Namaste.
· Date: December 15, 2010 · Views: 5444 · File size: 23.7kb, 661.2kb · : 1719 x 2116 ·
Hours Volunteered: 200
Volunteers: 20
Authors Age & Age Range of Volunteers: 17 & 13 to 18
Trash Removed/Recycled from Environment (kg): Ongoing
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