|
While adults can often feel ineffective in changing
the system, children can offer an inspiring reminder of what
can be accomplished when you refuse to be discouraged as you
pursue the dream of a better world.
The students of Salt Lake City's Jackson Elementary School,
and their teacher Barbara Lewis, offer a great example of
making a difference in a community.
In the 1980s a hazardous waste site was located just three
blocks from the Jackson school grounds on Salt Lake City's
westside. Students often played in the abandoned industrial
lot which served as a graveyard for over 50,000 barrels, many
of which contained residue of toxic chemicals.
The children brainstormed problems in their community and
chose the barrel yard as their main concern.
At first the results were discouraging. Time and again the
students were told that "nothing could be done" about the
abandoned barrels, and that there "probably" was nothing dangerous
about the location.
They could have given up. But they didn't.
The students circulated a petition, talked to other students
and wrote a sea of letters to every level of government. They
met with then-Salt Lake City Mayor Palmer DePaulis, who was
impressed with the student's initiative and promised to join
their effort to have the site cleaned up.
In response to growing publicity generated by the students,
the federal Environmental Protection Agency came to Utah to
study the barrel storage site. The tests revealed that soil
at the site had been contaminated as deep as thirty feet below
the surface by heavy metals, toxic chemicals and pesticides.
The site posed a distinct threat to the quality of the water
supply used by almost 400,000 area residents. The barrel storage
site was immediately placed on the national Priorities List
for hazardous waste clean up.
Within one year the barrels had been removed from the location
near Jackson Elementary School. Barbara Lewis and her students
were featured in newspaper, magazine and television stories
nationwide for their determined effort to clean up their neighborhood.
In subsequent years, the students of Jackson Elementary
would conduct additional campaigns for hazardous waste clean-ups,
tree plantings and crime fighting. Each time they faced discouragement,
and each time they pressed on. Their results were nothing
less than incredible. Millions of dollars for waste clean
up. More than one hundred thousand dollars for planting trees
statewide. New initiatives for safer schools and to protect
children from violence.
The first determined students of Jackson Elementary are
now well into their twenties. Their teacher, Barbara Lewis,
has become a successful author and teaches students in Park
City. But both teacher and former students carry with them
the powerful lesson learned from those years of hard work
and service. Their lesson is that involved and active individuals
can make a difference in their community. It is a lesson they
share with each of us.
The following books by Barbara Lewis are
available at your local library or bookstore:
Being Your Best: Character Building for Kids
7-10
The Kid's Guide to Service Projects
The Kid's Guide to Social Action
What Do You Stand For? : A Kid's Guide to Building Character
Young Lions: Ordinary Kids
with Extraordinary Courage
|
