Urbana high schoolers take part in Earth Day cleanup
URBANA, Ill. (WCIA) — High schoolers in Urbana celebrated Earth Day on Tuesday with a mass cleanup spearheaded by students themselves.
Clean-up efforts focused on Blair and Carle Parks along with the area surrounding Urbana High School.
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Around 40 student volunteers led the initiative and walked the areas with garbage bags and trash grabbers.
One student said cleaning up his community brings him a sense of pride.
'It's something that everyone can do, and it's just a little bit of work and it has such a big impact.' said sophomore Colin Guth.
And now thanks to students at Urbana High School — their efforts are making their home just a little bit cleaner this Earth Day.
'It's really nice — like a community builder,' Guth said. 'There's not as many opportunities to do something like this, so it's really nice to come out here and do that with, first of all, people I know.'
Students also improved the area surrounding their school not just by subtracting trash but also by adding art. They installed a 'peace pole' in the school garden.
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'This peace pole in particular really contains a lot of languages to represent our diverse community.' said Kanittha Fay.
Fay is the Parent Teacher Student Association Director of Student Engagement. She said the pole was created by 50 to 60 ag and art students over the last year.
'We want to let everybody know that they're seen, they're heard and they are equal,' Fay said. 'This is what students got together and presented to the community.'
Jennifer Ivory-Tatum is the Urbana Schools Superintendent.
'We really are pushing community pride and our students take pride in being or being Urbana Tigers,' Ivory-Tatum said.
And she said it's because of that pride that students are leading the way for a better and cleaner tomorrow.
'And so, I think it says a lot that they show up,' Ivory-Tatum added. 'We've been out here in the rain before and cold, and today it's absolutely beautiful. But their commitment to service and to making our community better is really evident.'
Organizers said they're looking forward to continuing the event again next year.
Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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