JrPLEWA Gets Tough on Butts (Cigarette Butts That Is)

We are high school and college students working together to make sustainable changes in our community.

This year we successfully passed a resolution through Erie City Council that requires all public buildings to have a smoking station on their property outside. We are currently working on an ordinance with City Council, which is needed in order for this resolution to be enforced.

We also compiled a survey on recycling and tourism.
These are some of the questions that will be given to hotels in the area:
Do you recycle in your hotel? If yes, which items?
Do you have outdoor smoking stations?
What types of energy conservation do you have?
Do you use rain barrels?
Do you use organic or integrate pest management practices?
Do you have low-flow showerheads and toilets?
Do you have heat lamps in your hotel?
Do you order organic food/products in your hotel?
We hope that our surveys will change some recycling practices within the community. At the very least, they will stand to inform tourism industry of alternatives and small changes that can make a large difference.

The Urban Rain Garden (planted in spring of 2006) now has its roots well established and is thriving. You can find it at the corner of 7th and Peach in downtown Erie. The Rain Garden does its part to improve the Lake Erie Watershed by helping to filter storm water. Such gardens catch water that would normally go directly from street to storm drain. Urban Rain Gardens provide a simple, productive, and beautiful alternative to strips of lawn or concrete.