Britt Fairchild / Features Writer | Posted: Saturday, January 15, 2005 12:00 am
Fellow youths 77 and even adults for that matter 77 could learn a lot about how to keep the environment healthy from 10-year-old Josephina "JoJo" Relyea.
Several of her prescriptions are quite simple, really.
Take recycling.
Each school day, the fourth-grader at May Grisham Elementary said she follows the words of her principal, and picks up a piece of garbage from the playground and either throws it away or recycles it.
If every student did the same 77 or if no one littered to begin with 77 she said, the playground would always look tidy.
Water conservation is also a concern.
"I always have to tell my brother not to waste too much water," Relyea said, noting that he leaves the faucet running the entire time he is brushing his teeth.
And clean air seems a big deal as well.
"Factories make air not so clean," she said.
While the bulk of this information stemmed from lessons about pollution and how to prevent it last year in third grade, they obviously made a lasting impression.
If those in her generation don/t start to worry about the environment now, Relyea said, it might be too late when they grow up.
"We might be dead," she said.
Such a mature understanding of this issue no doubt prompted Relyea to participate in the 2005 Kids Care for Clean Air calendar contest.
"I wanted to do it," she said, noting she liked the idea behind the contest.
In December, Relyea was named as the grand prize winner 77 and the only winner from the Santa Maria area 77 out of the 500 or so students who submitted artwork.
The annual calendar contest is a joint project of the Santa Barbara County Air Pollution Control District and SBCAG Traffic Solutions, and is open to children ages 5 to 12 who live in the county.
Thirteen winners were chosen from hundreds of entries conveying a message of working together for clean air.
Relyea/s colorful drawing of butterflies that look like people displaying the message, "Creative ideas for transportation will make our world beautiful," is featured on the calendar/s cover.
Relyea explained her inspiration for the drawing came when she was playing outside on a warm day and spotted a butterfly. "That kind of gave me the idea," she said, noting it made her think about how important it is to have clean air to keep butterflies healthy.
She said she decided to make the butterflies look like people when she realized people also need clean air to stay healthy.
"This project is about people too," she said.
Relyea/s drawing impressed Frances Gilliland, an air quality specialist with the Air Pollution Control District. "It/s very bright and colorful," she said.
While all the entries are "beautiful in their own right," Gilliland said Relyea/s drawing did an exceptional job of partnering color and cheer with the message of finding creative ways to help protect the air.
As the grand prize winner, Relyea received a new bike, donated from Bicycle Bob/s in Santa Barbara, and a ,100 savings bond contributed by Santa Barbara Bank and Trust.
Although she wasn/t able to attend the December award presentation in Santa Barbara because she had chicken pox, Relyea was able to travel there, on her birthday, to pick up the bike, she said.
She rides the bike a lot, she added.
Relyea was also given dozens of copies of the calendars, which she said, she isn/t sure what to do with, but she/ll probably give several away to friends and family.
Gilliland notified Relyea in the summer that she had won.
"(At first) I thought I was in trouble or something," Relyea said, explaining that her mom had answered the phone and Relyea could tell her mom was talking about her.
Then her mom handed Relyea the phone.
"I was really excited," she said. "I was jumping on the floor."
When asked if she had anything else to add, Relyea responded: "One other thing I/d like to say about the calendar is when your drawing is on the front cover and your picture is on the back cover (Relyea is pictured on the back cover with her parents, Dave and Mia, her brothers, Rafe and Gabe, Gilliland and Kenneth Acklin of Bicycle Bob/s) when you open it (the calendar), you/re not there anymore."
A little saddened that her photo doesn/t accompany an entire month, such as the other winners/ photos do, Relyea seemed to come around when told she was the only person to have a picture of her family on the calendar.
The calendars are available on request while supplies last. To make a request or for more information, call APCD at 961-8800.
Jan. 13, 2005