Starting small
With a whole Earth out there, it is impossible for a community to clean everything at one time.
Yet we can work up from a creek, to a river, to an ocean, to our Earth.
Yet we can work up from a creek, to a river, to an ocean, to our Earth.
You have probably been told to clean up after yourself, whether by a parent, teacher, friend, or otherwise. But where does the litter actually go? If you aren't careful, the answer might be the river. Litter thrown out can often be left out in parks, rivers, waterfronts, and other unwanted places. If trash makes its way into bodies of water, it can and will harm the entire ecosystem; trash can disrupt wildlife, like fish, that require clean, unpolluted water to thrive. We are doing something to change that. In March of 2019, Waterfront Service was established to help clean up the litter around the Potomac River Waterfront in Alexandria, Virginia. The Potomac Conservancy, a non-profit organization that evaluates the health of the river, raised their rating of the Potomac River's health from D-plus in 2007, to a B in 2019. Despite this, we still think the Potomac would benefit from cleaning up the waterfront. Our goal was not only to clean up in our city, but to also inspire other people in other communities to clean up around their neighborhoods. It is our duty, as the people of this Earth, to devote our time and energy into cleaning up our accumulating trash, no matter how small. |
We believe our project was very successful because we were able to clean up two parks that hundreds of people enjoy. We were also able to influence others and persuade them to clean up as well. Several people saw us clean up the parks and they may feel inspired to do the same. We hope that people will be inspired by us cleaning up and will have the desire to create a sustainable, trash-free environment.
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