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From trash-filled eyesore to Eden

Published: 18 Sep. 2009, 21:57

Bang Sang-heon, Lee So-mi, Oh Hyeong-ji and Jeong Chan-hui (from far left) from Sadang Elementary School in Gwanak, southern Seoul, show off the garden that they renewed. By Kim Seong-ryong

Adults are leading the way when it comes to environmentalism.

But children can contribute to making the world a cleaner place, too.

Just look to the garden near the entrance of the hiking trail on Mount Gwanak in southern Seoul, where you’ll find lovely trees, beautiful flowers and even a small pinwheel.

The site was once an eyesore filled with trash and other debris.

But four sixth graders from Sadang Elementary School in Gwanak District - Bang Sang-heon, Jeong Chan-hui, Lee So-mi and Oh Hyeong-ji - helped transform it into a veritable Eden.

In early March this year, the four submitted a recommendation to the Gwanak District Office to renovate the area at the base of the hiking trail.

Lee Kyu-ha, an official from the district, trekked out with the four children to survey the spot.

It wasn’t exactly pretty: Piles of garbage including leftover instant noodle bowls, plastic bottles and beer cans littered the ground.

“I used to play around the garden with my friends. But the place got messed up because a lot of mountain climbers passed by,” said student Lee So-mi.

The district office appointed the four students as “green owners,” a title for those who refurbish public sites and parks on their own, and gave them gloves and shovels.

The children began the job of renewing the garden in early April and completed the work last month, transforming the site into a peaceful garden complete with 20 trees and 30 flowers. They also made a pinwheel using recycled plastic bottles and wrote a report about the renewal process. The four students are childhood friends who grew up in same area and attend the same school.

Their environmental work began during their fourth year in elementary school, when they decided to help preserve the earth after taking a class about the environment.

The students created a club called “Green Eyes” to focus on these efforts and to hopefully recruit more to the cause.

They remembered the deteriorating garden where they used to play when they were younger. They initially took matters into their own hands, devoting time and effort to cleaning it up.

But the trash kept accumulating, so they visited the Gwanak District Office for some support.

The children, though, needed to raise some money to buy saplings and flowers.

So they recruited several other friends and sold some of their old clothes and toys, raising 500,000 won ($414) in the process.

After removing all the garbage, the children planted saplings and flowers. They also produced a sign and distributed leaflets to hikers, asking them to please refrain from throwing their trash on the ground.

Some people kept using the site as a trash can. So the students set up a sign claiming that the area is monitored by a surveillance camera, though it isn’t.

Their noble efforts will be rewarded, as the district office said it will include money in next year’s budget for an additional 100 trees at the site.

By Lee Hyun-taek [[email protected]]