Teenagers against pollution

Author: Claudia-Ștefania Roman

Age: 13 years

School: Școala Gimnazială „Carmen Sylva” Horia

Country: Romania

District: Neamț

Village: Horia

Coordinator: teacher Ramona Munteanu

I am 13 years old. I live in the east of Romania, in a village called Horia situated in the middle of vast fields. I attend the secondary school in
my native village, in the 7^th grade. My name is Claudia.

My village lies very close to a little town, Roman. Horia and Roman are separated by the beautiful river Moldova. It used to be a large river, with a lot of water, but the times have changed and so has the size of my country’s flowing waters.

Nevertheless the issue I want to bring to everyone’s attention is not the river itself, but its banks. I know many people who spend their Sundays and holidays on the banks of the Moldova River, especially during the summer season. There is nothing wrong or uncommon about this. Who doesn’t like to relax in nature, to spend lovely summer days in a peaceful atmosphere by the cooling water? Everybody does, but unfortunately very few people think about cleaning their picnic area before going home.

Every time I walk to the little town of Roman I cross the bridge over the Moldova River and the scenery that unveils in front of my eyes is far from being attractive. On the contrary: there are lots of PETs lying everywhere, lots of beer or soda cans smashed by angry fists or feet, there are traces of barbecue fires, there are plastic bags, paper handkerchiefs and even toilet paper… All these just lie there, altering and poisoning such a beautiful landscape.

Pollution is the worst and the surest way to destroy the environment and a well known problem that affects us all. But the victims are not only us, humans, but also the environment in which we live and the animals that surround us. From the permanent desire to make profit and everything to be perfect for themselves, people don’t think a second about the consequences of their deeds. Human negligence towards the environment will have serious consequences in the future. It’s a pity we don’t understand this.

One day I started to wonder who is responsible for keeping the banks of the Moldova River clean. I went to the Local Council in the village of Horia to ask for information and help concerning this matter. The person I talked to just raised his shoulders: “There is nothing we can do about it. It’s not under our authority. The Town Hall of Roman should deal with this.” Such an answer isn’t very encouraging, is it?

I didn’t give up though. I’m not that kind of girl! I have some very hearty colleagues at school. Moreover – I forgot to mention – the school I attend is the first Eco-School in the district of Neamț. It’s an achievement we are very proud of. So I decided to consult my classmates and my teachers in order to find a solution to what was worrying me.

The people’s level of civilization is very low, the proof being the mess and the disaster in which nature lies. Local people and the Local Council have not made and do not do anything about the mess that surrounds us so it is up to us, the children and teenagers in Horia, to organise greening activities to make the banks of the Moldova River a better, cleaner place.

Some of my classmates said that it wasn’t their business and that the problem with people here is that they lack good sense and respect for nature. “Respect for nature is something you can acquire during a lifetime”, I replied. They repeated what their parents must have said many times: “It’s hard to educate these people, especially adults. In fact, it’s impossible.” I don’t like the word “impossible”. I don’t even believe in it.

My teachers promised they would help. First they proposed placing some signs in the most circulated areas by the river, with suggestive images and advice for people to take the rubbish with them and throw it away to the bins instead of leaving it right there. Then we gathered the eco-committee of our school and asked pupils and teachers to volunteer for a longer cleaning campaign.

We divided the volunteers into several teams and established a cleaning calendar. The most important thing to do was cleaning as much area as we could cover. We started our campaign in October 2012 and the results were visible. During the first hour of work we managed to fill to bursting point ten big sacks within a rather small area: about 20 square metres. Unfortunately, winter came and made us stop work, but we will be back in action as soon as the weather gets warmer.

We are aware that we cannot change mentalities and behaviour overnight, but we aren’t going to stop trying. We are also aware that we cannot keep cleaning the banks of the river forever, but one day our action will be considered an example to follow. One day people will begin to respect nature and the non-pollution signs we will post all the time. One day our peers will know that respecting nature they respect others and themselves. One day people will no longer be ashamed of cleaning for the others and finally there will surely be no more work for eco-volunteers. Hope is the last to die. My dream may be hard to reach, but not impossible.

Articol ce va fi postat pe site-ul Proiectului Young Reporters for the Environment, pentru a participa la un concurs care consta in realizarea si publicarea unei investigatii privind o problemă reală de mediu din comunitate si oferirea unei solutii pertinente pentru problema respectiva. Articolul a fost realizat de catre eleva Claudia-Ștefania Roman, sub indrumarea doamnei profesoare Ramona Munteanu.