Honorable Mention Winner, Grades 6-8
Isabelle Thibault, Grade 6, McGlynn Middle School, Medford

A Letter to the Mayor of Medford

Dear Mayor McGlynn,

As the human kind began advancing, they found more ways to pollute the beloved land they lived on. Throughout history many people have t~ stop this polluting of the Planet we call home...Earth. Now, that this has been understood it is time to take things into our own hands. The next generation must stop the polluting, and enjoy the pleasure that the Earth generates.

"Our environmental problems originate in the hubris of imagining ourselves as the central nervous system or the brain of nature. We're not the brain, we are a cancer on nature"-Dave Foreman

For many years prior to 1991 sludge and waste had been dumped into the Charles River and other places around Boston Harbor. If this had continued, Boston and the surrounding communities including the city you govern, Medford, would be much more infected, polluted, and wildlife would diminish.

Fortunately this eventually deadly process was stopped in 1991 with Massachusetts Water Resources Authority's (MWRA) sludge-to-fertilizer process. The MWRA made history by stopping waste dischargers into Boston. Harbor with "Bay State Fertilizer".

"Just living is not enough. One must have sunshine, freedom, and a little flower."
-Hans Christian Anderson

Bay State Fertilizer recycles organic solids leftover from the waste water treatment process. Bay State Fertilizer is appropriate for landscaping, gardening, city parks and gardens. The fertilizer also meets the states standards for fertilizers while having more nutrients than compost or 'regular' fertilizer. If not allover the state, at least in Medford, MWRA's Bay State Fertilizer should replace the regular stuff.

"When nature has work to be done, she creates a genius to do it"
- Ralph Waldo Emerson

It could be a law that public parks or fields over the size 3000 square feet would have to use Bay State Fertilizer. Notifying landscape companies about this great formula would help the fertilizer be used more.

Instead of an ad about a car dealership being on a billboard the ad could be about the Bay State Fertilizer. Local newspapers would almost certainly write an article in the paper whether in the Medford Transcript or the Boston Globe. Local collages and universities like Tufts University would love the fertilizer and may be willing to use it in future projects. Some schools, elementary through high schools, might support Bay State Fertilizer.

To me a lush carpet of pine needles or spongy grass is more welcome than the most luxurious Persian rug" - Helen Keller.

When receiving the fertilizer you must buy a 40 pound bag for 2,000 square feet of land. This fertilizer is a great alternative for large areas because it breaks down at a snail's pace and this reduces the need for typical amount of water. You can get the fertilizer in Plymouth and in Rhode Island.

"I look forward to an America which will not be afraid of grace and beauty, which will protect the beauty of our natural environment, which will preserve the great old American houses and squares and parks of our national past and which will build handsome and balanced cities for our future" - John F. Kennedy

The word must get out about this superb invention of environment safe sludge- to- fertilizer product. I put forward the idea of letting Medford leading the way to enforcing a new law or regulation that the Bay State Fertilizer must be used in public areas with over 3,000 square feet will bring us closer to our goal. Also, posting billboards and notifying all the landscaping companies, collages, universities, schools and not to mention notifying you will help. Many little steps must be taken to reach the large goal of a pollution free world and this fertilizer marks the first improvement. As evolution progresses, the resolution to pollution should too!

With the plan stated above, we, as a community and soon as a county can change the face of the Earth.

Thank You,
Isabelle Thibault
Resident of Medford, Massachusetts

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