By Staff
"I am only one, but still I am one. I cannot do everything, but still I can do something. I will not refuse to do the something I can do."
– Helen Keller
Earth Day has come and gone, but the message needs to be one which is forgotten until next year.
In Niles, in honor of Earth Day, one small 10-year-old girl told her mom she wanted to make a difference. What can one child do, you might ask.
This girl, Sierra Jedlowski, wrote to the Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT) and asked if she could plant some trees.
After receiving permission and MDOT even purchasing the trees, she and a friend planted Blue Spruces along the highway, U.S.-31 Bypass.
Already in her young life, she had participated in her church's efforts to clean up along rivers and local beaches.
"I wish people would stop littering so much and just throw their trash away in a trash can like it should be. That would be a good start. We find some nasty stuff when we clean up by the rivers and I can't believe people just throw that kind of stuff on the ground," Sierra said.
One person – one young girl – making a difference.
Someday when those trees have grown, maybe she will bring her own daughter to the place where she planted those trees in honor of Earth Day 2008.
If everyone did one small step toward helping our planet, just imagine what changes we could bring about.
Learn from Helen Keller, who even as a young child could not see or hear, felt she could make a difference.
Learn from Sierra Jedlowski.