In advance of Earth Day, I met up for the first time with Katherine Pessecow Director, WNY Trash Mob!, and Chair of Education, Community Canvases. I was fascinated to hear how Katherine came to be such a staunch anti-litter campaigner – someone who not only preaches “prevention though building community,” she also helps to organize neighborhood cleanups (see the Earth Day contest).
As we discussed different strategies to make Buffalo a cleaner city, I asked Katherine about an idea that I have had brewing for a while:
Would it be possible for the Board of Education (Buffalo Public Schools) to pass a resolution that would see the school system get directly involved with neighborhood cleanups? At least once a year, students and staff would clean up around their respective schools, possibly as part of a broader Earth Day initiative.
Currently, there are approximately 34,000 students in nearly 60 facilities. If the students and staff could take one day off (or even half a day), and dedicate concerted efforts toward a broad-sweeping cleanup, the results would be tremendous. The clean-up would be followed by school celebrations, including cookouts and art projects, for example. Make it fun. Make it something to look forward to each year. School spirit should translate to neighborhood spirit.
I have always been of the belief that if we can teach young people that littering is ugly and irresponsible, they will take the lessons with them throughout their lives.
Times are not as simple as they once were. Students are under a lot of pressure these days, and anti-littering lessons are most likely being swept under the rug. But community cleanups equate to a lot more than simply picking up litter. They teach people about respecting their neighborhoods, and their neighbors. These types of life lessons transcend well beyond the clean-ups.
I am willing to bet that an initiative of this nature would benefit Buffalo in numerous ways, well beyond contributing towards a cleaner, healthier city. The cleanups would be bonding exercises, between the schools and the host neighborhoods. They would be confidence-builders through team building exercises. They would get students outside, walking, and exploring their urban habitats. And the end result would be an all-around better understanding of the true meaning of Earth Day.
Earth Day should be a national holiday, or at least a regional holiday, dedicated to one of the greatest teachers of all time – Mother Nature.
Lead image: Photo by Robert Thiemann
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