Students and public works collaborate to keep one small city (and the rest of the world) clean Michael Soares English Teacher and Newspaper Advisor Pontiac Township High School City of Pontiac, Illinois
teenager begins to spray paint on a Pontiac, Ill., city street. Vandalism? An act of illicit graffiti art? Quite the opposite. In fact, hundreds of teenagers over the years have been excused from the classroom to spread across the community and spray paint with the blessing of Chris Brock, Pontiac Street Superintendent. One of a series of innovative programs emanating from Pontiac Township High School (PTHS), the Storm Sewer Stenciling Project has found students and staff coordinating with the City of Pontiac Public Works, junior high schools, local businesses, and various departments inside the high school including science and art to raise water pollution awareness and other environmental concerns. Pontiac, home to a working landfill which according to the National Solid Wastes Management Association (NSWMA) is the “largest with a remaining capacity of almost 233 million tons,” has produced students inspired to create and implement multiple eco-minded programs besides the stenciling project, including battery and light bulb recycling and perhaps most successful of all, the National Prescription Pill and Drug Disposal Program (P2D2) which developed legislation signed into law by Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn in August 2011 and also placed third in the international Volvo Adventure Award contest cosponsored by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP). 120 APWA Reporter
August 2012
The sewer never sleeps Throughout the community, grates in Pontiac lead into a sewer system which never sleeps—an infrastructure which dwells beneath the city and runs its course oblivious to the world above. Students at PTHS have recognized that what makes its way into this system fundamentally impacts the environment and they have taken extraordinary steps to counteract these changes. According to Paul Ritter, science teacher at PTHS and president of the Illinois Science Teachers Association, “the stenciling project is specifically focused on Central Illinois’ attempts to reduce or eliminate Non-Point Source (NPS) pollution by having students stencil warnings on storm sewer drains. Each year, students stencil approximately 3,600 storm sewer drains with the warning ‘Do Not Dump/Drains Into Our Vermillion River.’ By spreading this message on every storm sewer drain in our area, they hope to illustrate the connections among humans, their actions, and the pollution we see every day in and along the river. They also hope to promote environmental stewardship as each community sees visible improvements in their drinking and recreational water quality, taking responsibility for the future of both their community and their health.” Continues Ritter, “The student-led project focuses attention on this issue, which combines the energy and enthusiasm of our Pontiac Junior High School eighth grade
and my Ecology students, with the resources and capabilities of our local community and agencies to increase public awareness and action on NPS pollution.”
Collaboration with City Government Inspired by the success of the community-wide efforts of the storm project, Ritter took other causes to his students, including the Dry Cell Battery/Light Bulb Recycling which was initiated with help of Brock, who testified along with students to Pontiac’s city council about the successful drop-off recycling boxes located on the city’s Public Works Department’s property, cell phone recycling opportunities, and the promotion of recycling in Livingston County. Brock, whose role as Street Superintendent has long included being a liaison between student groups and the mayor, “advises students on various city policies and works with them on preparing different presentation to the city council.” Brock was quick to recognize the potential of social action for education in Pontiac, citing not merely the environmental benefits, but also the impact of student interaction with community and government. Says Brock, “In this day and age when people generally think government is against them, we have taught these students that by working with their elected officials and public servants, things can happen and change.”
