There are many environmental issues that are caused by humans, and in Pennsylvania, there are programs that are designed to reduce the impacts. Keeping Pennsylvania Beautiful (KPA) is about teaching and participating in sustainability throughout communities in PA. KPA has a program called Young Ambassadors of Pennsylvania (YAP), where students from diverse racial, ethnic and socio-economic backgrounds are chosen each year. One student at Norwin, junior Scarlett Vesely, was selected to be a Young Ambassador of Pennsylvania.
KPA aims to, according to their website, “build a community by inspiring, engaging, and empowering young Pennsylvanians to keep their communities clean and beautiful and develop civic leaders to champion and advocate for clean and beautiful communities across Pennsylvania.”
Young Ambassadors have a shared vision of a clean and beautiful Pennsylvania, and do so through an eight-month program where they participate in meetings and plan events.
“What I am currently doing for the program is going to informational meetings over Zoom as well as planning for events such as education a group on how to leave no trace,” Vesely said. “Sustainability or any other way to keep your community environmentally conscious which will be held between January and April, the second event will be a community cleanup event; cleaning a river, roadside, park, etc which will be later in the spring.”
Through a long program, Vesely and other students across Pennsylvania will be able to learn and teach about sustainability and protect the state from environmental harm. Environmental sustainability goes hand in hand with being apart of your community and being an advocate for change.
Vesely found out about the program through her AP Environmental Science teacher Mrs. Muchoney. Vesely is also involved in Ecology Club, Envirothon, Global Scholars, German Club, and Science Challenge squad. As a well-rounded student, Vesely is able to have an affect on her community and set an example for others.
“My favorite part is that the program has the ability to reach so many counties while also being statewide; it’s fun to meet people from all over the state or even the country as i have a meeting with similar departments from Texas and Florida tomorrow,” Vesely said. “I hope to continue with environmental science and I think this is a great stepping stone as well as bringing the community together to keep our environment and wildlife safe”
Overall, there are many reasons to become a Young Ambassador. Students like Vesely can form connections, increase understanding, inform others, and network with students across the state and country.
There are many steps to take to become a sustainable person, and for Norwin to become a sustainable school.
“I think including a recycling bin during lunches and in classrooms would be a great start for Norwin to reduce waste and trying to educate yourself on ways to be sustainable is a great way to help because sustainability does start locally,” Vesely said.
