Jr. PLEWA (Pennsylvania Lake Erie Watershed Association), an Earth Action high school and college youth group facilitated by Sister Pat Lupo, OSB of Environment Erie, was the U.S. winner of Project Earth’s World Environment Day Contest (Select United States to access the listing). Their project, Taking Action Against Pharmaceuticals and Personal Care Products (PPCPs) involved researching the effects of PPCPs on the environment (waterways), educating the public on their findings and then preparing recommendations that they took to the State Capitol, Harrisburg, and presented to the Northwest Caucus. Some of those recommendations are contained in a bill that is currently going through final stages.

In the photo at right, Jr. PLEWA representatives and Sister Pat gather at the State Capitol for a meeting with PA Senator Jane Earll to discuss the issue of pharmaceuticals and personal care products and their impacts on water quality.

The young people continue to present their findings at youth training days and other events, including a presentation last fall at the North American Association for Environmental Education. Cindy Murray of Northwestern High School assists with the group; Lauren Pierson of Collegiate Academy and Molly Giewont of Fairview High School are group co-chairs and Korissa Kasper assisted with the submission of the project story.

Project Earth aims to effectively build a true, environmentally literate global citizenship – one student, one school, one country at a time by working on projects both locally and collaboratively with other students across the globe will make our planet a better place.