Fourth Grade Caldwell Student Honored at YALE UNIVERSITY

By Jackie Schatell

Nine-year-old Bobbi Wilson of Caldwell has become quite a superstar in the scientific field since October 2022, where she faced an incident of racism when a neighbor called the police on her for spraying trees to rid them of spotted lanternflies, an invasive species invading New Jersey. The neighbor reported that a “little Black woman is walking and spraying stuff on the sidewalks and trees,” and he said it “scares me.” Bobbi had simply been doing her part to rid the state of spotted lanternflies as part of the Stomp It Out! campaign, which asks people to kill the bug that is killing the trees and crops.

The situation went viral, and many local officials, as well as Yale University administrators stepped in to help turn the negative situation into a positive one. In fact, Governor Murphy tweeted, “Racism has no home here. No mother should have to worry about the cops being called on their child for trying to make the world a better place.”

It has been a whirlwind of accolades ever since for the young scientist, who had been using her own homemade solution of water, dish soap, and apple cider vinegar to spray the trees.