What did you think about Tuesday’s Cavo Strong? I know I was a little leery about picking up garbage. (I mean, c’mon, what does one wear to pick up trash?)* I got over it, though – especially because it was a way to honor Earth Day.
My group first watched a video titled “Litter is Devastating to Wildlife”. It’s one of those things that you know, but you probably don’t give all that much thought to, right? After watching this, you can’t forget. The images of animals tangled in wires and plastic, and even sprawled lifelessly on the roadside, are upsetting to say the least. It’s a compelling video, and it worked for me. I definitely wanted to do something.
Where to begin? Teachers were supplied with trash bags and gloves (left in the copy room), as well as an email describing a circumscribed area for their advisory group’s grade.
Their sections were divided as follows: “12th: Senior Parking Lot & Grass (Bridge to Bridge), 11th: Football Field Turf, 10th Concessions, Grass, Bleachers -Football Field, 9th: Between Board Office and Maintenance Shed, 8th: Creek & Varsity Softball Field, 7th: JV Softball Field/Football Practice Field” (as per Mr. Carr’s email).
Fortunately, both the weather and our students cooperated, and the whole event helped to raise awareness about how some people treat our campus. My eighth grade students shared some interesting finds with me: a dog’s leash, a bone, a dead frog, a moldy ground-meat packet, shaving cream, tiny alcohol bottles, and a golden vape. My ninth graders and I discovered soggy toddler’s clothes (a sweatshirt and leggings), several cans of beer, some plastic tubing, cigarette butts, and crumpled-up chip packages.
At one point, I saw some other students emerge from the woods by the Board of Education building with a “RESTRICTED PROPERTY – NO TRESPASSING!” sign, but one of my colleagues urged them to bring it back to where they had found it.
While there may have been some initial reluctance, I eventually saw people working together. Students who didn’t know me asked to throw out their findings in my trash bag. Some asked me if I had extra gloves so they could join in on the task. One of my advisory members asked me if I needed her to go into the water and pluck out a bottle she’d seen, even though it would have meant climbing through some nasty looking sticker bushes. Another teacher asked if I had some gloves to spare, so his kids could get involved, and it got us talking.
My point? Emerson’s Cavos came through and did the right thing- together.
*One wears “EARTH tones”, get it?
