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Eco-Festival
connects youths, Earth
Aug.
10, 2003
By
MATTHEW RODRIGUEZ
Observer-Dispatch
UTICA -- Showing off a letter that a third-grade
student in Mexico sent to her organization, Kids Against
Pollution summer intern Jessica G. Tovar reflected Saturday
on the child's artwork.
"It
appears to show a symbiotic relationship with the Earth
and the animals," Tovar said. "It's actually
pretty deep."
The
neatly written letter, which Tovar had with her, is
one of many that students from around the globe frequently
send to Kids Against Pollution, Tovar said.
People
of all ages joined Tovar Saturday at the Edward A. Hanna
Parkway Recreation Center for the organization's Eco-Festival.
Although
the youths are not old enough to vote, they do have
a voice, Tovar said.
"A
lot of the youths are concerned because these are issues
that they will have to face in their environment,"
said Tovar, a recent graduate of San Francisco State
University.
At
the Eco-Festival, vendors sold food and distributed
information to those in attendance. Others watched as
Jonathan D. Woodward of Clinton shaped clay pottery
for children.
Some
even joined in.
"It's
getting their hands wet, and it's earth," said
Mitch J. Barry, whose two sons made little clay pots.
"That connection is good."
The
Barry family traveled all the way from Demarest, N.J.,
for the event. It was the first time either Jon Paul
Barry, 7, or Kyle Barry, 5, had made clay pottery.
Nancy
Rutigliano, a Kids Against Pollution trustee and organizer
of the day's entertainment, agreed that working with
the clay helped children to reconnect with the earth.
"This
Earth is their Earth," Rutigliano said. "As
adults we're trying to provide avenues for them to be
heard."
Now
in its 16th year, Kids Against Pollution's national
headquarters is located on the third floor of the Children's
Museum, 311 Main St.
Until
her internship is over, Tovar will help respond to letters
from concerned children who want to know how they can
participate.
Will
she respond to the third grader's carefully written
note in model handwriting?
"I
probably should," she said. "I think I'll
send her a drawing, too."
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