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"Parents
don’t think the river can be cleaned, "Just like with recycling,
kids can teach adults how to keep the river clean." "I want a river where if
you wanted to do something in it, |
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Having Our Say – Shaping Our River’s Future A Student Teach-in for the Housatonic River The children of Berkshire County look to the future of the Housatonic River with a high degree of hope and expectation. They want to help take responsibility for restoring the river and do not want to see the mistakes of earlier generations repeated. "Parents don’t think the river can be cleaned, but kids think it can be cleaned if everybody gets together and works on it," said ten-year-old Amanda Bursotti of Lee Central School. One hundred and eighty-three students and seventy-nine adults converged at Conte Community School in Pittsfield on October 20, 1999, to attend the conference "Having Our Say–Shaping Our River’s Future." Students from Grade 3 through college discussed the Housatonic River and described their visions for the future. Nineteen schools throughout the river’s upper watershed, including classes from Connecticut and New York, participated in the event. They were:
During the week prior to the conference, artist-naturalist Kimberly Jensen led about 250 Conte Community School students in an exploration of the health of the Housatonic River. The students discussed their views for a restored river and expressed their ideas in pictures which were added to a conference exhibit. During the conference, graduate student Nancy O'Shaughnessy helped elementary school participants transform maps of the Housatonic River provided by the EPA into a collage expressing their hopes and dreams. Following a series of student-led presentations about the Housatonic River on topics ranging from water monitoring projects to the natural history of the river, all students divided into twelve different groups, based on age, with two adult team leaders. Each group discussed the condition of the river and what they wanted to see happen. "This is a chance for kids to shape their river," Conte Community School Principal Elizabeth Neale told students at the outset. Participating adults included leading county officials, EPA specialists assigned to the Housatonic River cleanup project, teachers, and environmentalists from throughout Berkshire County. Adults asked students to discuss their own experiences with the river, ways to restore it, and potential uses. "Your job as you get older will be to make sure the garbage and the litter don’t get into the river," Pittsfield Mayor Gerard Doyle told his team of elementary-school students. "That’s an important job and you should spread the word." The message was eagerly embraced. Students expressed a keen desire to start. Many expressed doubts that adults would or could heed the notion of restoring the river. Groups frequently concluded that kids would need to take the lead in restoring the Housatonic River for the future. "We thought that kids should be the ones who teach the adults," said sixth-grade student Nicole Nalepa of Egremont School in Pittsfield. "If they don’t pay attention, they should be given detention. It was the adults who polluted the river in the first place." "Just like with recycling, kids can teach the parents how to keep the river clean," said St. Joseph’s High School senior Corey Doucette. In fact, some students questioned whether adult officials would truly complete the task, even with the new agreement between the EPA and General Electric. "Some people in our group thought that PCBs in a landfill was a bad idea," said Siobhan Sullivan, an eighth-grade student from Richmond Consolidated School. "The PCBs could leak out and pollute the water again." Students wanted to take responsibility for the future of the river. They said they are eager to learn how to take on the task and they want the effort to be an all-inclusive one. "All of us here know about the problems and how the river is polluted, but there are many people who don’t know how to help make the river better," said eighth-grade student Alicia Bonner from the Rudolf Steiner School in Great Barrington. "We want people to be able to work together to improve the river." The vision expressed by students was in many ways similar to the one described by adults in the HRR public hearing process. In some ways, however, their comments reflected a more knowledgeable understanding and direct experience of the river. Many of the classes had received special units on the Housatonic River. As part of the conference, Conte Community School students gave the participants a tour of a river walk by the school. These experiences helped motivate their interest in crafting a vision for the future. The students want the river cleaned. They see many potential uses for the river ranging from the benefits of tourism to the joy of diving headfirst into a swimming hole. They want swimming, boating, fishing (lots and lots of fishing), but also a place to dream and play. One student liked the idea of skipping stones on the river. In short, students want the river to be a part of their growing up. But many students said they were afraid of the river. The pollution and the stories they have heard about it have kept them from the waterway. "I want a river where if you wanted to do something in it, you knew you could do it," said eleven-year-old Matt Sturgis of Lee Central School. "We have to get rid of the nasty stuff," Nalepa said. Students envision a wide range of programs to protect the river, including buying key parcels of land, turning parking lots into fields, and enforcing laws to prevent the trashing of the river, whether it be from litterers, vandals, or companies that dump chemicals into the river. They understand that the restoration of the river is a complicated matter. Many talked about PCBs, storm run-off, industrial waste, and ordinary garbage. Students also want educational programs developed for themselves and others. Indeed, there were numerous suggestions that another conference be held on what is being done to restore the river. "There should be more events like this one to educate people about the river," said Marianne Clark of Nessacus Middle School in Dalton. Children seemed to understand their responsibility to sustain a healthy river once it has been cleaned of industrial contamination. They seem to be looking forward to the challenge with gusto. In all, the twelve groups came up with more than 100 ideas on how to improve the river, educate people about its benefits, use it as a beneficial asset for the community, and enjoy it. Some of the ideas that were different or expanded on those brought up during the HRR public process included the following: • Posting signs along the river that state "Don’t Pollute Me So I Can Be Beautiful." • Setting up nets across the river to gather trash and remove it. • Coming up with a musical jingle that could be used to promote the Housatonic River as a joyful place. • Adopting sections of the river and its streams similar to the state’s adopt-a-highway program. • Placing surveillance cameras along frequently used portions of the river to catch vandals, polluters, and others who trash the river and its surroundings. • Removing cement and paving from areas along the river. • Starting a camp near the river as an educational center for children and adults. • Restoring an old mill or factory building along the river into a museum about the river. The student conference was held as a forum for students to describe their vision for the future of the Housatonic River. That vision proved to be an all-inclusive one, blessed with a high level of optimism that the future of the river can be better than its recent history. Their vision is based on the notion that they as individuals can participate in the restoration of the river and that the restoration effort will have to reach out beyond the boundaries of the waterway and into the daily habits and attitudes of the people who live along the river. More so than adults, the children of Berkshire County feel entitled to a clean and restored river. More than adults, they want to participate in the restoration of the river. And more than adults, they see their futures more closely linked to the fate of the Housatonic River. |
