做一次拉尼爾湖畔的”清掃員」 – 記明日之光「First Step」 團隊
前言
2020年11月，美中下一代基金會明日之光公益獎平台正式成立並得到華人社區的積極響應。平台的職責之一是傳播各個團隊的事迹和經驗，共大家學習，交流和參考。
9月25日，是Forsyth郡Lake Lanier每年一度的清里湖畔日（Lake Lanier Association’s annual shoreline cleanup)。 不少華人應召參戰，包括美中下一代教育基金會的潘玲和舒靜董事。基金會旗下的明日之光First Step團隊更是不甘落後，有二十多人參加了這項活動。Forsyth郡的臉書還刊登了他們的照片。孩子們積極性非常高漲，回來還把這個經歷用中英文記錄下來。希望明年有更多的夥伴參加！
做一次拉尼爾湖畔的”清掃員」
作者：Rachel Li (Decatur 高中, 10年級)
9月25日，我來到了拉尼爾湖參加了岸邊清掃行動。這是我第一次參加First Step團隊的志願者行動，也是由拉尼爾湖協會組織的一年一度的Shore Sweep活動的一部分。
我家離拉尼爾湖有近一個小時的車程，所以我和媽媽早早出發了。雖然時間很早，但是當我來到預定地點 Bald Ridge Marina時接待人員已經等候多時了。拉尼爾湖的湖面很廣闊，湖邊總是伴隨著蔥鬱的樹林，時而有遊客駕駛船在湖面上行過。參加活動的人挺多，接待人員應接不暇。拉尼爾湖域很大，在集合地簽到後再次開車大約15分鐘後才到達被分配到的 Charleston Park拾取垃圾。
一路上我一直有一個疑問：為什麼主辦方要組織這次活動呢？其實我一直以為在這種自然環境下並不會有太多的垃圾，來到分配區域後情況貌似真的如我所想，草地上只有零星的細碎垃圾。然而後來同行的隊員在樹叢中發現了不少玻璃瓶以及塑料包裝袋。原來並不是表面看到的沒有垃圾，而是垃圾都十分隱蔽。有了這個發現後，比起志願者拾取垃圾，場面一度更像是尋寶行動。為了這次活動我特地準備了垃圾撿拾器，這時候也派上了用場。經過大家的不懈努力每個人都從自然環境中找出不少垃圾。這個過程中我還發現了好多種蘑菇，有個蘑菇蓋一碰就噴出煙霧狀的孢子，很是有趣。
短短一個多小時大家就結束了”戰鬥”，清潔了湖岸，也結識了幾位新朋友。第一次的經歷很愉快，也讓我非常期待以後可以參加更多的志願者活動。
P.S. First Step 團隊共有13位同學和11位家長參加了這次活動，最小的同學才6歲。大家在繁忙的生活中抽出時間，一起清潔環境，為社區服務，並在這個過程中享受陽光和友誼。每個人都說這是一個特別愉快的經歷！如果您也想加入我們，請發郵件到：firststepteam2020@gmail.com
The first time as a volunteer in Lake Lanier shore sweep 2021
by Rachel Li (Decatur High School, 10th grade)
On September 25th, I came to Lake Lanier to participate in the annual Shore Sweep activity organized by the Lake Lanier Association. This is my first time to join the activity as a volunteer of the First Step team.
My home is about an hour』s drive from Lake Lanier, so my mother and I set off early. Although it was early, the reception staff had been waiting for a long time when we arrived at Bald Ridge Marina. There were a lot of people attending the event. The Lake Lanier area is very large with beautiful scenery. After checking in, we drove again for about 15 minutes to the assigned Charleston Park.
I have always had a question along the way: why did the Lake Lanier Association organize this event? In my mind, there would not be too much rubbish in this natural environment. At the beginning the situation seemed to be true, and for a while I saw very few scattered rubbish on the grass. However, a few team members found many glass bottles and plastic bags in the bushes. It turned out that most rubbish were hidden! With this discovery, the scene was more like a treasure hunt than picking up rubbish, and I found the grabber was a useful tool. During the search, I also found many kinds of mushrooms. One of the mushroom caps sprayed out smoke-like spores, which was very interesting.
In just over an hour, we ended the “battle”, cleaned the shore of the lake, and made some new friends. I had a great time today and really look forward to participating in more volunteer activities in the future.
