By Morgan Roan
University of Georgia
President Bush honored some Georgia high school 4-H members April
22 in Washington, D.C., for projects that helped educate their
community and preserve natural resources.
“By working hard to preserve our natural surroundings, you’ve
made important contributions to your communities and to our
nation,” Bush said.
Coweta County 4-H officers Phillip Kaufman, Cody Disque, Rebecca
Miolen, Cameron Brinton and Dane Beatenbough traveled to the
White House to meet the president. They accepted the President’s
Environmental Youth Awards plaque on behalf of the other Coweta
4-H members.
“It was unbelievable to stand in front of the president and to
know that our projects are making a difference and impact on our
community,” Disque said.
How it started
Disque and Beatenbough developed the Adopt-A-Stream project four
years ago to clean and nurture area waterways. They attended
Georgia Department of Natural Resources Adopt-A-Stream seminars.
They even became certified in biological and chemical
monitoring.
The 4-H’ers found many area streams in poor condition. They began
recruiting others to help clean the polluted streams, writing
newspaper articles, speaking to civic groups, distributing
fliers.
“The teens’ main goals of this project are to educate youth (and)
the public and form a plan and take action in the community to
help our environment,” said Pat Miolen, a 4-H program assistant
in Coweta County.
Local businesses contributed to the project. Yamaha provided the
monitoring equipment, too, and helped pay for the Washington
trip.
Broad effort
While some 4-H’ers were testing the waters, others taught water
pollution classes to more than 1,500 fifth-graders in local
schools.
The 4-H’ers organized and carried out four annual Rivers Alive
cleanup efforts and two Great American Cleanups. Both projects
involved more than 600 volunteers who donated more than 2,400
hours of community service. Their efforts restored the streams by
removing beer cans, tires, furniture and other debris.
The Coweta 4-H Adopt-A-Stream teens attend county fairs, too, to
raise awareness on pollution and storm-water runoff.
They’re working now with county engineers in a project to raise
people’s awareness about the trash being washed through storm
drains into local streams.
EPA program
Since 1971, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has
sponsored the President’s Environmental Youth Awards Program.
Miolen nominated Coweta’s 4-H’ers. She submitted the projects
and resources they created to the EPA regional certificate
program. The 10 regional winners get the chance to meet the
president.
“It was such a great experience and honor to be invited to the
White House,” Brinton said. “The president encouraged everyone
there to keep up their good work.”
“You’ve cleaned parks, you’ve restored wetlands and you’ve
organized conservation projects,” Bush said. “As volunteers,
you’ve given your time and talents in many different ways. And
together you’re helping to achieve a great national goal: to
protect and pass along the great natural beauty of our
country.”
The 4-H’ers will compete in two other national programs, the
Youth Symposium at the Fox Theatre in Atlanta and the Envirothon.
In the latter, they compete in areas such as stream chemical
tests, forestry, wildlife and soil testing.
“The teens find their work challenging. But they’re very
enthusiastic about these projects and are receiving great
experience,” Miolen said. “They especially enjoy the
competitions.”
(Morgan Roan is a student writer with the University of
Georgia College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences.)
