Virginia Earth Force Youth Summit: How To Improve Watershed?
Hundreds of local school children came together last week at the 2011 Environmental Youth Summit held at Marymount University for a chance to learn how to care for the environment in hopes of making a better place for generations to come. The afternoon was filled with workshops and environmental education stations, courtesy of the U.S. National Park Service and other organizations, where students could learn about the environment — from how to prevent contaminant runoff into nearby waterways, to what happens to water when it goes down the drain, to learning how trash and pollution affects life in watershed environments. As part of the Environmental Youth Summit activities, sixth and seventh grade students from Kenmore, Woodlawn, Swanson, H . B . Woodlawn and Francis C. Hammond schools presented essays and projects in response to: “What Can You Do to Improve Your Watersheds?” According to the EPA website, watersheds supply drinking water, provide recreation and respite, and sustain life. More than $450 billion in food and fiber, manufactured goods, and tourism depends on clean water and healthy watersheds. H.B. Woodlawn Secondary Program earned first place honors for “A Garden To Teach Others,” which demonstrated how to replace potentially harmful invasive plants in a watershed environment with native plants. The presentation demonstrated how invasive plants can overrun native species and reduce the numbers and biodiversity of native species. The win, which came with a check for $1,000, was a surprise to some Woodlawn students. Other students called the win a well-deserved one. “We worked really hard on this project, said team member Sam Gonson. “We put a lot of work into it. It’s just something we really wanted to do — it was a good idea. We really deserve it.” The group’s president, Zoey Mondshine, agreed. “When we won, it was just really exciting because we put a lot of effort into this. It’s been a lot of fun and I’m glad we participated in this.” The students already have plans to put their winnings to good use. “The budget was $200, and we got $1,000, so what we’re thinking is splitting it with the school and the people who were in the H.D. Woodlawn Earth Force group,” said Woodlawn student, Arianna Bennett. On how the group specifically plans to use their share, Bennett replied, “We have a woods area right along the edge of our school and there are tons of invasive plants. We were thinking of pulling all those invasive plants out and putting non-invasive plants in there to make it better for the environment and better for the animals.” The environment isn’t the summit’s only benefactor. Participating in the environmental workshop has also helped the teens become better students. “At first, my friends and I just joined this stuff to get an ‘A’ in science,” said team member Kainath Younis, “but we learned a lot and we really appreciated it.” The students have a planned trip this weekend to purchase native plants needed for the proposed wooded area of the school. They plan to purchase Wild Blue Indigo, Saint Johns Wart, and other plants to replace ivy and other invasive plants growing in the school’s wooded area. “I’m really impressed with how hard the students worked and I’m really looking forward to seeing it [the garden] come to fruition,” said Woodlawn teacher Kathy Molina. “I know they were very, very motivated to make it happen.” The group is also writing a book with the same title as their presentation. Woodlawn students are no strangers when it comes to spearheading environmental projects. In 2007, the school was awarded the President’s Environmental Youth Award for the Mid-Atlantic region for its curbside electronics-recycling program in Arlington. Kenmore Middle School took second place, and received a check for $800. All of the participating schools were rewarded for their efforts and received monetary compensation. U.S. Rep. Jim Moran (D-8), who introduced legislation on Earth Day calling for a national five cent tax on plastic bags, was on hand to support the winners. “This is so terribly important,” Moran said. “Not just for letting us as elected officials know where our focus should be, but this is all about our educating the next generation of leaders on how to protect and preserve our environment for their children. This is a ‘force’ to save the earth — literally.” Moran said his bag tax bill will help to pay for cleaning up bags and other debris that end up in rivers and streams, and encourages the use of reusable bags. “It is organizations like Earth Force that are the key to our future,” said Moran. Earth Force summits convene across the country. An Earth Force energy education webinar is being planned for May 19. Reprinted from 'The Connection': http://connectionarchives.com/PDF/2011/051811/Arlington.pdf |
