SHORELINES

25 a p c s hor e l i n e s.c om | 2015 Vol :3 Demopolis High School senior Marlana Mitchell is beginning to understand what it means to be a good environmental steward. After volunteering with Renew Our Rivers, Mitchell is more aware of how actions today have a lasting impact on waterways that surround her community. As a volunteer at the recent cleanup at Lake Demopolis, Mitchell and 30 classmates worked alongside volunteers that included employees of Alabama Power's Greene County Steam Plant and students from Westside Elementary School, Demopolis Middle School and the University of West Alabama. The 136 volunteers removed 6.6 tons of trash, 2,100 pounds of tires and abandoned watercraft weighing 1,500 pounds from the lake. In the midst of collecting trash on this Saturday morning, Mitchell and her classmates found lessons of stewardship and the importance of giving back to their community, all through Renew Our Rivers. "I learned that a lot of trash was on the riverbanks due to storms and floods. I never thought there would be so much trash on the riverbanks," Mitchell said. "It is important for us to participate in Renew Our Rivers because we should all help keep our communities clean." Cynthia Phillips, an Advanced Placement physics teacher at Demopolis High School, encourages her students to participate in the Renew Our Rivers cleanup each year because of the educational and stewardship opportunities it provides. "For many of our students, this is the first time for them to go out on a boat and see animals and wildlife that are part of the lake habitat," said Phillips. "But more importantly, they learn what it means to be a good steward while also making connections with others in the community. For them, the experience is priceless." Like Mitchell, students across Alabama have had similar experiences learning about the environment through Renew Our Rivers. "The students that come out and participate in a Renew Our Rivers cleanup get to see firsthand how trash from a roadside or parking lot can wash into a ditch and then into a river," said Mike Clelland, an Environmental Affairs specialist who is Alabama Power's coordinator of volunteers for Renew Our Rivers. "And, as some of the trash that they remove has obviously been in the Opposite: Photo by wynTer Byrd — More than 10.32 tons of trash were collected from the Renew Our Rivers Valley Creek cleanup this year. "IT'S IMPORTANT TO GET THE NEXT GENERATION INVOLVED, TO HELP CREATE A VISION AND A MINDSET OF THE IMPORTANCE OF KEEPING OUR AQUATIC ECOSYSTEMS CLEAN, FOR ALL THINGS LIVING." – M IK E CL EL L A ND, A N EN V IR O N M EN TA L A FFA IR S SP E CI A L IS T W I T H A L A B A M A P OW ER A ND CO O R D IN ATO R O F VO L UN T EER S FO R R ENE W O UR R I V ER S. EDUCATION that makes a difference RENEW OUR RIVERS PROVIDES ENVIRONMENTAL EDUCATION OPPORTUNITIES TO STUDENTS ACROSS THE STATE.

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