The Catawba River’s “Pollution Solution”

By Barbara Musumarra

Keeping doggy waste off the lawn and using eco-friendly fertilizer are gaining ground as efficient approaches to healthy waterways. In North Carolina three ninth-grade students developed a curriculum to teach their peers these practices.

The Pollution Solution, a trio hailing from Gastonia, N.C., were among 60 other regional participants awarded the Presidential Environmental Youth Award.

This national award program encourages youth to become more involved with the environment by designing methods to improve air, water and land quality. The Pollution Solution’s project “Save the Catawba River: One Yard at a Time,” teaches other students how simple steps to maintain clean storm drains can keep rivers healthy.

Honorees Katie Danis, Mary Hunter Russell and Grace Wynkoop traveled to Washington, D.C., on Aug. 12 to receive their plaque of distinction.