One busy summer!

To many, summer is a time to be free of any type of work. It is a time for many who just finished a long school year to enjoy themselves. Unlike most people, I pretty much didn’t have any free time at all this summer. I’ve had a part time job for almost two years now, and on top of that I took on another job! I was granted the opportunity to work for the Division of Environmental Quality as an Education and Outreach Intern under the Coral Reef Initiative. Two jobs kept me busy, and with pretty much no extra time at all. But who’s to say that I didn’t enjoy myself? I’ve experienced so many things in one summer that I never thought I was capable of doing. Of course I enjoyed myself!

My main project as an Education and Outreach Intern was to go to select villages, walk around house to house, and give them a few environment friendly tips. The first topic I discussed was marine debris/littering. To make it simple, marine debris is ocean trash. Common marine debris in the CNMI includes aluminum cans, plastics, cigarette butts, and glass. As many of you have noticed, it is an ugly sight to see and it’s really embarrassing. Our tourists come to the CNMI to enjoy our beautiful seas and for them to see trash floating around our ocean isn’t such a pleasant sight.

Not only is it just plain ugly, it also harms our marine life. Our marine life gets harmed when they eat marine debris. Sometimes they choke on it and die, other times it makes them sick. Another way it harms our marine life is when they get tangled in marine debris, oftentimes causing injury as they struggle to get out. We can greatly reduce this problem if we work together and clean up litter we see in the ocean or even on the ground, because it’s bound to find its way to the ocean if we just leave it there. Even the little pieces of trash count! Next time you have a picnic at the beach, clean up after yourself! Don’t just leave your trash around.

The second topic that I discussed was carbon dioxide emissions (driving tips). I taught the people that driving emits carbon dioxide into the atmosphere and it harms our ozone. However, there are ways that you can reduce the amount of carbon that goes into the atmosphere by being a more cautious driver. These driving tips include following the speed limit, inflating your tires to the right PSI to cause less resistance, keeping unnecessary heavy things out of your car, not idling, carpooling to work or school, walking to a close destination, etc. These tips can help make a better environment.

The third topic that I talked about was conserving energy. Everyone wants to use less power for obvious reasons. The power rates from CUC have gone up and everyone is paying a lot more than they used to on electricity. Another reason why they should conserve energy is because it also emits carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. I gave them a few tips on saving energy that they might not have known before, such as using a compact fluorescent light bulb other than the regular incandescent one. A lot of the people I talk to respond positively when I hand them brochures with energy saving tips. Many say things like “Thanks! This could really help!” and then they start complaining about CUC. It’s good to know that I’m not only helping the environment, but I’m helping the people save money.

The last topic that I touched on was recycling. I pretty much taught some people what recycling is, what to recycle, and where to drop it off (The Lower Base Transfer Station). I also told them that they could make money if they do recycle and that it will also save them money because they won’t need the garbage collector to come very often. I also related it to marine debris. We will have less marine debris if trash is recycled.

Of course it was quite challenging because I didn’t know what kind of person would open the front door, whether it be a really mean person or someone who couldn’t speak English. Not to mention that most (if not all) of the villages on Saipan have crazy dogs who bark and chase. However, many people responded positively to my short presentation. One lady told me that she didn’t realize that driving affects the environment at all! Another proudly told me that her entire family makes an effort to recycle their cans and bottles. Being able to give them that advice and information is a very rewarding feeling. It’s only rewarding because I know that I have played a part in helping our environment by spreading the word.

My mentor Reina Camacho and I realized that doing house to house outreach was getting too difficult because a lot of people were at work, and sometimes they were still asleep (we did our outreach in the morning). So we came up with another idea. Instead of us going to people’s houses, we’ll make them come to us…in a way. I, along with DFW’s education and outreach intern, Teresa Miller, started doing our outreach together at stores. I handed out our State of the Reef Report as well as some brochures that have tips on ways to save energy and keep our environment clean. We went to stores such as Carmen’s Safeway, Hafa Adai Shopping Center, Joeten Susupe, Joeten DanDan, Dolphin Wholesale, etc. At Hafa Adai Shopping Center, one man was encouraging us to keep educating people because he really LOVES the CNMI and it’s a place that he calls home. I have always felt that way, but I am more encouraged to keep educating people on how they can be more environment-friendly; and am relieved to know that I was not the only person that truly loves the CNMI. I think that the house to house outreach was a good approach but this was a better idea because we didn’t have to catch people at the wrong time and we were pretty much always guaranteed that people would be there.

On the sidelines, I have been reading environment-related books to kids at the Joeten-Kiyu Public Library every week; I’ve been updating our Exhibitor Resource List for the annual Environmental Fair; and I’ve also updated our Coral Reef Education Catalog. To make it easier for my mentor, I’ve contacted all the schools to get updated contact information for outreach purposes/school presentations.

I‘ve contacted the media to get information on their readership, viewership, and listenership so we could get started on our educational advertising. I’ve also done presentations about marine debris and recycling to different clubs and centers such as the 4H club.

I also had the opportunity to participate in Health Promotion Council meetings, I did a reef flat survey at Bird Island, and I’ve also done a beach clean-up at Old Man by the Sea which was really fun because I’ve never been there before!

Being a part of this internship has been a complete blessing. I’ve met so many great people and I’ve learned so much information about our environment. It really feels good knowing that I made a difference in helping out our environment, whether it is a big difference or small difference. I’ve learned here that every act counts and one simple good deed can work wonders.

Now that I’ve completed my internship and my summer is just about over, I’m packing my bags and moving to Portland, Oregon to start off my college education! It’s an overwhelming feeling leaving home, but once I receive a college degree, I’ll be back to help make our home even better and more beautiful. “Doing what?” you may ask. The answer is…who knows? Only time will tell!

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[I] Matthew Blanco is the Education Outreach Intern for the Division of Environmental Quality.[/I]