My brother and I have always had a connection with nature and enjoyed the outdoors. This passion sparked us to take action to help our environment and the well-being of all of us. That is when we came up with the idea to help lower the CO2 pollution in the air by setting up Idle-Free Zone signs on our schools drop off and pickup zones.
We put together a slideshow showing the consequences of idling not only to nature and animals, but also to humans and presented it to the leadership team of our schools. One minute of idling puts out the equivalent of the pollution from 3 packages of cigarettes, and the Colorado school grounds are the most polluted areas in Colorado. Idling also has devastating effects on our health in the form of learning disabilities, mental health, and cancer rates.
This information was also shared with our school board at our school district and signs stating “IDLE-FREE ZONE, Protect our children, TURN OFF YOUR ENGINE” were approved for all 60 schools in the school district.
Overall, this project has felt meaningful and fun but also introduced several challenges. We didn’t get the signs up until much later than anticipated and with most signs still not up. But the project also helped us strengthen our patience and communication skills. To make further change, we have been planning a second phase of this project, with a goal to bring this information to DriveSafe Colorado driving schools, where my brother and I will soon start taking driving lessons. Our goal for this phase of the project is to put this information into their curriculum for the written driving test, required for all new drivers in Colorado.
Hopefully this post has inspired kids and teens to stand up for our environment on which all life depends. Even though fighting for change may seem challenging, small steps and actions are so meaningful and can create an amazing impact. We are all in this together, good luck to you all!
Alina & Nicolas
