Keeping our Community Cleanby Heidi Scheidet, Wading River, NYThe Shoreham/Wading River High School Community Relations class was recently posed the question, "What is the biggest problem in our community?" Our group came to the conclusion that the biggest issue in our area was the increasing problem of pollution. We noticed trash lining the roads, graffiti painted on buildings and glass covering beach walkways. Since then, we have done a lot of research and planning to get ready for the project that lies ahead, which we have entitled Keeping Our Community Clean. On October 4th, we led a group of students, parents, teachers and other members of the community to a chosen area where they split up into working groups and each cleaned a designated space. Each team's responsibilities included picking up trash, sweeping glass from the parking lots, raking, etc. Following cleanup, a free brunch, including bagels and drinks, was available to participants. We tried to jazz up the morning's work with a little live music provided by a local radio station.Prior to the cleanup day, we had Charles Bowman (a local environmentalist from Land Use Ecological Services) speak to students about the dangers of pollution and how it affects our area. Hopefully, through this informational session, students gained knowledge about the effects of their actions.This service project provided students with an opportunity to work hands-on, both individually and as a group, in an effort to clean our community and keep it clean for years to come. We have high hopes for the outcome of the project and are dedicated to making it work. ^