She’s been talking about it for months.
In little bits and pieces, Cami’s ideas began to evolve as only a fourth-grader’s can, soaking up information that’s never before been more accessible and, as a kid, grappling with how to make sense of it.
Her world is not always a tidy place – literally. She sees the trash that mars it and it bothers her a lot.
“I want to start an environmental club for kids,” my granddaughter told me. “I have all these ideas …”
She certainly does. This little girl, who loved her three years of classes at the Paramount School of the Arts in Aurora before deciding she was not cut out to be in front of an audience any bigger than her extended family, is nevertheless teeming with leadership potential and a kind of mature confidence waiting to be unleashed.
And so Cami secured the commitment from a handful of classmates, even asking for permission to put up posters from the principal, who understandably guided her to start her marketing campaign at an after-school program.
The first meeting of the club was a “dry-run” on Sunday with an enthusiastic group of cousins, including a second-grader who recently announced she was going vegan, except when her “mommy’s special meatballs” were on the menu.
I’ve been around this bunch enough to know how crazy they can get when left on their own. But the fearless president of the currently-named Kids Cleanup Crew was dead-set on this project being taken seriously. And Cami refused to tolerate any shenanigans from them.
As the club gathered on a beautiful Sunday afternoon, with Earth Day right around the corner, the KCC president, armed with a three-page lesson plan, schooled them on how many ways trash can build up and become so detrimental, which was followed by a question/answer period that challenged them to think about what they can do to make a difference.
After having them write down their thoughts in journals – the kindergartener trying hard with words like cardboard and recycle – she praised their efforts, then handed out art supplies so they could sketch ideas for a group logo.
Then the crew really got to work.
Wearing name tags created by Cami’s fellow fourth-grade cousin, and clutching metal tongs and plastic bags in their white-gloved hands, they took off in the neighborhood like an eager pack of trick-or-treaters. Only, rather than seeking Kit-Kats or Sour Patch Kids, the group was on a hunt for candy wrappers and other litter that we carelessly let fly in our environment.
It was not hard to find.
In addition to wrappers, their haul included empty bottles of champagne and vodka, a chewed-up baseball, a discarded McDonald’s bag and drink cup, plenty of other filthy plastic and a strange piece of tattered clothing that turned into a discussion of just what it could have been at one time.
Four of columnist Denise Crosby’s grandchildren tackle their environmental concerns by starting a Kids Cleanup Crew club that included picking up trash Sunday in a Fox Valley neighborhood. (Denise Crosby / The Beacon-News)
The crew finished at 5 p.m., but this work is far from done.
Earth Day began 54 years ago on college campuses, with those hippies-turned-Baby-Boomers continuing to be strong leaders in the battle against climate change. They’ve got plenty of support, however. According to a Pew Research report, 76% of Gen Zers list this threat as one of their biggest concerns.
But there is something about seeing this youngest generation pick up the mantle on their own and run with it – in this case throughout the neighborhood – that makes me feel hopeful we can save our good Earth. As my granddaughter told me in no uncertain terms, “we will be the ones left with the mess” now being created.
She and her peers are still too young to tackle environmental issues with political activism or by making HBO documentaries. But they know how to pick up litter. And they can spread the word among their peers and families about the importance of everyone doing their part, even if that means something as basic but important as reminding us of what can and cannot go into the recycling bins.
I’m sure some adult guidance will be needed to keep this neophyte group going. But as I perched myself on a nearby curb watching them do their thing, I couldn’t help but wonder if I am among the many adults sitting on the sidelines far too much.
On this day I watched from a distance as they went about cleaning up our world. Next time, I will don a pair of gloves and join them.
dcrosby@tribpub.com
