Earth Day-- Rachel Freeman

To celebrate Earth Day this year, some members of my club and I went to Buckroe Beach to pick up trash that we found laying around. It was surprisingly a lot cleaner than I anticipated it to be, but we still managed to gather a decent amount. I was surprised at how many cigarette buds we found, especially because they're so easily swept into the ocean and buried into the sand. I felt accomplished for making the beach just a little cleaner than it had been before, even if it wasn't noticeable from afar. 

Then, I explored the Outdoor Enthusiast Festival at Newport News Park. For it being Earth Day, I was surprised at how many generator-powered food trucks and bouncy houses there were, even with the abundance of little kids running around everywhere. I also only say recycling bins everywhere, but it was the only place to throw any sort of dirty paper plates and excess food, so that was a little confusing. They also had a lumberjack show and axe throwing, a wildlife information booth, and some canoes to take out on the lake near the park. I really enjoyed the canoes because there were 4 of us, so we went in 2s and raced each other on the water. It was very fun, but I feel there was much room for improvement in having more sustainable activities such as canoeing. 

Finally, I went to a SustainabiliTEAM party at Dr. Manning's house to hang out with some students and staff from the department. The superlatives were my favorite part; mine was "Sustainable Soldier" because I want to go into the JAG Corps for environmental law. It pored down rain while I was there, which was a beautiful end to a productive Earth Day. 

Overall, 10/10 day. Happy belated Earth Day!

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