The Youth Climate Initiative is partnering with the Well Done Foundation to plug orphaned wells. (Donor website photo) |
Mateo De La Rocha told his family that he wanted to be a garbage man when he grew up. "In La Paz, Bolivia, his home city at the time, trash piles were everywhere. In De La Rocha's eyes, the local sanitation worker was the only person cleaning up pollution," reports Delger Erdenesanaa of The New York Times. After De La Rocha's family relocated to the U.S., he ended up in an Advance Placement environmental science class. . . . "Where he realized that the methane from these abandoned wells was an issue [where individuals] could potentially make a difference. He invited his classmates Sebastian Ng and Lila Gisondi to join him."
Location of Cuyahoga Valley National Park in Ohio (Wikipedia) |
Being an environmental sanitation worker is a tall order, so the three teens dubbed themselves the "Youth Climate Initiative" and dug into orphaned well problems and possible solutions. "After more research, the trio connected with a nonprofit organization called the Well Done Foundation that plugs orphaned wells," Erdenesanaa writes. "The organization was founded by Curtis Shuck, an oil and gas industry veteran. . . .The students in North Carolina agreed to sponsor the 45th, an orphaned oil well on a horse farm in Ohio, near Cuyahoga Valley National Park."
Once the Youth Climate Initiative had a partner and their site, "They raised money in small increments over the course of about three months," Erdenesanaa explains. "The students also persuaded the Reimer Family Climate Crisis Fund, a small family foundation based in Austin, Texas, to match their donations. The $11,000 the students raised will cover approximately 15 percent of the project's total cost. Well Done will cover the rest of the cost through other donations and sponsors."
While one plugged well isn't going to save the environment, for the Youth Climate Initiative, it's a great start. Erdenesanaa adds, "Now that final exams, sports tournaments and prom are out of the way, De La Rocha, Ng and Gisondi plan to raise money to plug a second orphaned well this summer."
To view photos of the students' project as it unfolded, click here.
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