By: Willie Adicoff,  PCEI AmeriCorps Program Associate

I love when I don’t have to do my job.  It’s not that I am lazy or I hate work; it has more to do with the nature of a nonprofit.  We work to better our community so when the community takes actions on its own, our job becomes a little easier (and results are often great).  I was lucky enough to witness one of these moments when the Wood River High School’s We Appreciate the Earth’s Resources (W.A.T.E.R.) Club held an expo for their fellow students.

Students in W.A.T.E.R. Club picked environmental topics that most interested them and set up various informational and visual presentations.  Students from other classes came into a room littered with trash to learn, explore, and act on some of our most destructive habits.  From the impacts of eating meat to the danger of ocean acidification, the topics were eye-opening and the presenters were educated.  Best of all, the entire event was planned and executed by students for an audience of students.  Students were engaging their peers with discussion, not lecturing, which can make the path to action considerably shorter.

After seeing this, it’s hard for me to believe the constant warning of lazy teenagers.  After all, they are doing our job so we don’t have to.