By Robyn Lam

Share:

This is my personal essay from Lead 360 that describes my passion for creating a healthier environment and world.

In the bareness of Earth, dust veils the land. The thick filter blurs the eyes of many and a thin layer covers all one can see. The glaring sun burns all who are unfortunate enough to fall under its gaze. Nothing but birds fill the land, screaming in the heat. If you look hard enough, you can imagine how this place looked years ago. The ground would have been colored green and animals would have roamed around the world. 

I heard crunch crunch crunch when walking into the garden. Plants flooded the walkways, blurred the signs, and burned in the sun. The garden stuck out like a sore, old thumb. It was a dull yellow spot in the middle of school and littered with small trash. Only a few years ago the garden was filled with green and you could spot flashes of birds and butterflies gliding throughout the space. Small insects would bathe in the trickling water and the rustling of leaves from the trees and bushes echoed throughout the school. 

Voices, fighting for the reconstruction of the garden, were dismissed by the community for being unnecessary. As time went on, more wildlife continued to disappear, only leaving the bees and flies to roam the garden. 

Visiting my elementary school’s garden was a huge shock as it was not in the same state as before. When I was in elementary school, I loved to run around in the garden and watch the animals race by. Yet when I visited the garden as a high schooler, it was all gone. The green, the animals, and the fun was all gone. Instead, trash was littered everywhere, and all of the animals had left to find new, clean homes for them to thrive in. I was disappointed in my community and myself for not taking care of the garden or ensuring that the environment we had would not be destroyed. I was upset and sad when I found that many animals had left the garden due to our actions. The squirrels and butterflies who used to thrive were now gone and the plants have shriveled up, leaving almost no room for animals to rest. 

The trashed garden hurts not only me but also those who go to elementary school and the world. Students and staff at the elementary school no longer have the opportunity to experience and learn about the beauty of nature, and it also prevents them from becoming more knowledgeable. The garden is hurting the world by disrupting the animals and plants that used to thrive there but were forced out due to our negligence. 

I want my community to recognize the significance of cleaning up the garden and spreading awareness about the importance of respecting our environment. Although some would dismiss my pleas to focus on other matters, I know others will recognize the issue we allow to grow in our community. I have talked to multiple adults and students from the elementary school who express the same desire to improve our garden, so I know that many more will support too. The dismissal from some could be due to the lack of awareness in my community about why cleaning the garden is so important. It may seem like a small project to beautify the school, but it is much more than that. I believe that we need to educate others about our plan and most importantly, why we want to make these changes. The garden may seem like a small, insignificant project to some, but in actuality, it is an important contribution to our community and world. Additionally, some may recognize the consequences of climate change but not want to start taking action to help reverse it. Talking about the negative effects of climate change is different than deciding to change the ways that contribute to it. Inspiring people to act upon their desire to take action could definitely result in many improvements to our community.

Process

Reflecting on my elementary school days inspired me to write this piece. I had recently visited my elementary school’s garden and noticed that it looked extremely different than before. With Lead 360’s lessons and workshops about advocacy, I was inspired to start my project on creating a healthier environment, starting with my elementary school’s garden.