Many University students think of 14th Street -- where roads and sidewalks are often littered with paper plates, plastic cups, empty beer cans, broken bottles, chip bags and pizza boxes -- as a college student enclave.
But after plodding through trash along 14th Street on their way to a field trip at the University Art Museum, a younger set of students is trying to clean up the area.
Second graders from Venable School, located on 14th Street, took a trip to City Hall Monday to protest the debris.
"My class was walking down 14th Street to get to the Downtown Mall to the free trolley," second-grade Venable teacher Lisa Shook said. "There were broken beer bottles with jagged edges and pizza boxes. I was concerned and so were the students. They are very aware about litter and are concerned about the community. They are worried about the wildlife -- the squirrels, birds, and the fish in the nearby creek."
They wrote letters to City Council and made colorful posters protesting the trash. Council invited the second-grade activists to present their concerns at their Monday meeting.
"They came in a positive, civic manner," Charlottesville Mayor David E. Brown said. "They learned that if they band together, they can turn an issue that just they noticed into something everyone notices."
Shook's students introduced themselves and read aloud the letters they wrote to Council.
"The kids have a legitimate cause," said Vice Mayor Kevin Lynch. "We will enforce more. We had a discussion with public works about getting trash out of the Venable area."
Jim Tolbert, head of the Department of Neighborhood Development Services, said the City is already involved in enforcement.
"Since school started, we've cited 168 properties for cleanup around the Venable area," Tolbert said.
Homeowners and renters can be cited with a Property Maintenance Code Issue for trash in yards.
Brown said City Council plans to discuss the left-over party litter on 14th Street with the University's Student Council.
"Ultimately, it comes down to how students conduct themselves," Lynch said. "The real situation is asking people who live in and visit these areas to be conscientious about the environment."
Shook said her second graders plan to continue their campaign. Next week they will take another field trip, this time to the Corner to ask shop owners to display their anti-litter posters and letters in windows.
"It's important that a child realize that not just adults can make a change," Shook said.
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