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Coweta County 4-H Adopt-A-Stream Club of Newnan, Ga., Receives Presidential Environmental Youth Award

Release Date: 03/01/2004
Contact Information: Laura Niles, (404) 562-8353, [email protected]

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced today that the Coweta County 4-H Adopt-A-Stream Club of Newnan, Georgia is the Region 4 recipient of the 2003 President's Environmental Youth Award. The Adopt-A-Stream project began when Coweta County 4-H Club members Cody Disque and Dane Beatenbough educated their fellow club members about Adopt-A-Stream and the difference they could make in their community. After scouting for local streams that needed monitoring and cleanup, the students identified a local creek, Wahoo Creek, that was filled with garbage and hazardous waste barrels at C.J. Smith Park in Coweta County. To help further the club's interest in the project and gain more participation, the sponsor, Ms. Pat Miolen, shared some history on past watershed problems in the area. Her knowledge helped to educate the students involved in the project, who could, in turn, educate the local community. The club was successful in meeting their primary goals while conducting the Adopt-A-Stream program. Their main goals were to establish an organization to meet local watershed needs, locate illegal dumping areas and eliminate them, monitor the chemical and biological conditions of local streams, develop a sense of pride in the community, and inspire clean-up participation among residents in the problem areas of the community. The President's Environmental Youth Awards Program encourages individuals, school classes, schools, summer camps, public interest groups, and youth organizations to promote local environmental awareness and to channel this awareness into positive community involvement. The program is open to all students from kindergarten through the 12th grade.