We were woken up an hour earlier than we were supposed to thanks to our dad, Jeremy! We had breakfast and then we went to River Hills Park and met up with Mr. Bob and students from UNC Asheville. Once we got to the park, we walked through the disc golf course to the work site. Our four hours were comprised of removing invasive species that were taking over the native plants of the park. We worked in pairs, one person cut the plant close to its roots and the second person would dab it would with a chemical to stop the growth of the plant. Then we ate lunch at the work site and went to the YMCA for a much needed shower.
After our shower, we all went to the Coal Ash Cookout that was hosted by the WNCA. All 13 of us were split into separate groups, such as helping with food preparation, asking people to sign a petition, the photo booth, making signs, and working with children to help the organization with the cookout preparations. The cookout/rally was about informing the community about the harmful effects that the power plant was having on the water supply. The byproduct of coal ash from the power plant was being dumped into the two surrounding ponds around the power plant, that affected the surrounding communities. The water pollution caused by the byproducts is harmful to the community's source of clean water that will then affect the human health. For example the byproducts causes neurological damage, cancer and diarrhea as well as other problems because of the mercury that is present in the byproducts. The sentiment that was collected from the water contained high amounts of lead, copper, and selenium.
We also met a child psychiatrist who discussed issues of child brain development related to the water consumption in the community. He mentioned that it is an important issue to be addressed and educated. We were surprised to learn that the coal ash burning in Asheville also had an impact on College Park, even though both towns are miles apart. He said that 1.5 million tons of coal ash were used to make a golf club in Centerville, Virginia. And this had a negative impact on the Chesapeake Bay.
On the car ride back from the Coal Ash Cookout, Jheesoo got the best surprise of her life. We dared Andrew to flash Jheesoo, so we drove by them and Andrew pulled up his shirt. Luckily Jheesoo didn't drive off the road! Then we came back to the church and did our personal reflections about the day. We are staying in tonight, and preparing for our last day in Asheville tomorrow.
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