The condition of our environment is vital to human survival. There are many groups and organizations that work to ensure the safety of our natural surroundings. JrPLEWA is one of these helpful organizations. The name JrPLEWA stands for the Junior Pennsylvania Lake Erie Watershed Association. It is a group of high school and college students who work together to make sustainable changes in our community. JrPLEWA is a branch of PLEWA and is also part of Lake Erie-Allegheny Earth Force.

Earth Force is a national non-profit organization that empowers students to help solve environmental problems that they are faced with today. Together, the students work with partners to discover new ways of protecting our native environment, to address pollution in our communities and other environmental problems in our watershed.

JrPLEWA has engaged in many activities. One of the most important is the Cigarette Butt Campaign. We designed this unique proposal in order to raise public awareness about the effects of cigarette butts in our environment. We encouraged a variety of businesses to display stickers that show an interesting, but catchy slogan: Keep ‘em outta the bay, throw your butts in a tray!” Along with the stickers, the businesses also kept outdoor cigarette ashtrays on their property. This technique as used throughout the City of Erie. Students also orked with the City of Erie and others to have signs posted along streets and buildings in December.

JrPLEWA gave presentations at State Watershed Conferences and local City Council meetings, participated at the International Joint Commission in Kingston, Ontario, the International Coastal Cleanups in Erie, River Network’s National River Rallies, school projects with Strong Vincent High School, and Cascade Creek cleanups. All these activities help to move students to the next level of awareness and protection in our watershed.

Pat Lupo, the facilitator of JrPLEWA, along with Sarah Galloway, the consultant, encourage members to do the best they can to stay active in solving current environmental issues. Sonia Rosales of Villa Marie Academy, Vetta Stepanyan and Samantha Szoszorek of Strong Vincent High School, Bryan Corle of Seneca High School, Todd Nunes and Alison Phillips of Gannon University are all active members of JrPLEWA. These students illustrate the importance of the youth today. If more kids and their parents became involved, we could rest assure that we would be living in cleaner, healthier and happier surroundings. It’s not that much to ask, especially since our future depends on the decisions that we make today.

Written by Vetta Stepanyan, Strong Vincent High School