Rebecca Stokes is making a name for herself in a way that’s different than one expects for someone her age.
The 17-year-old Carl Albert High School student is focusing her efforts on making a difference, one piece of recyclable material at a time.
This school year, Stokes managed to bring several different organizations together to start a pilot recycling program at CAHS for her Girl Scouts Gold Award, which is the equivalent to the well-known Eagle Scout award for Boys Scouts.
She hopes that the program eventually goes district wide but more importantly, raises recycling awareness.
A love of green
Holly Stokes said her daughter’s interest in the environment has been in place from an early age. Then when the Stokes family moved into their Midwest City neighborhood in 2008, Stokes interest changed into more of a passion.
She fell in love with her neighborhood’s Frolich Park, specifically the wildlife, and would eventually create a brochure educating homeowners about the park.
“There are turtles and fish there and geese that migrate there in the summer time,” Stokes said. “I was worried about the wildlife being affected by homes moving in or people bothering them and wanted them to stay.”
As a result, Stokes’ brochure is now included in the closing packet of new homeowners.
But she didn’t just stop there. She also requested to the Midwest City parks and recreation department for a trash can to be placed in the park and the city did just that.
The idea for her next move in her recycling journey came as a result of picking up trash on her walk home from school.
She realized that CAHS did not have recycling containers for plastic and aluminum, although there were bins just for paper.
A request to Great Plains Coca Cola changed that when they provided Stokes with cardboard bins for plastic recycling. Stokes knew they were not going to hold up in the long run so she set out to obtain more durable containers.
Blue trash containers at Lowe’s in Midwest City turned out to be the perfect solution. Stokes raised funds to purchase two and sought the store’s help for more.
Stokes said for her Gold Project she set a goal to have 18 containers on the CAHS campus. She also managed for Republic Services, who runs the city’s curbside recycling program, to locate a large recycling bin in the school’s parking lot.
That bin is being used for plastics and aluminum cans by the school and she hopes this will inspire community awareness to recycle, Stokes said.
A team effort
Stokes says her project could not have been a success without all of the support she received. Bill Janacek and Robert Streets with the Midwest City environmental services department, Republic Services, Lowe’s, her Girl Scouts troop, CAHS and the school district, all contributed to the project.
But thanks of support also need to be bestowed on Stokes.
Eco Club sponsor, Karen Nichols, expressed her amazement in what Stokes has achieved.
“It has been an honor working with Becca. She is truly dedicated and driven to change the world for the better. I know that Becca does what she does because she knows it’s the right thing to do, not for the accolades,” Nichols said. “I think that the Gold Project is an excellent outlet to accomplish change. I am really proud of her; she has inspired me.”
CAHS Principal Kristin Goggans anticipates Stokes’ program to continue even after she graduates.
“She definitely has laid the foundation for that to happen, Goggans said. “The recycling bins are sturdy and they are going to last. With the help of the Eco Club and the sponsor, I really expect this program to just thrive.”
