"The Great Hollow Wetlands/Hanford Supermarket project was an effort led by a student group I founded and continue to coordinate, 'Students for a Sustainable Future,' to prevent a 56,000-square-foot supermarket from being built on a wetlands adjacent to our school. When walking the site we saw numerous species of wildlife, either directly or indirectly. We saw many birds and deer firsthand and saw tracks of black bear and red-tailed fox.

This project sought not just to preserve the wetlands for its scenic characteristics, but also mainly to preserve its intrinsic value as wildlife habitat. On May 4, 2001, The Lebanon Planning Board voted 4-3 to deny Hanford Supermarket's request for site plan approval. Currently Hanford is appealing the decision, but for now we have won a major battle to save Great Hollow Wetlands."

 

Acceptance Speech Thank You, There are so many wonderful people, without whose help and inspiration this project and award would not have been possible. I would like to thank my mom, Alice Blackmer for her constant support and encouragement. And although they could not be here, I am incredibly grateful to my sister Juliet Duval, and my father Bill Duval. There are so many students from my High School and people from the Lebanon community whose past and present dedication to this project have made my job as an organizer a lot easier. On behalf of the Upper Connecticut River Valley, and myself I would like to thank them. Lastly, I would like to thank David Brower. Although I never met him, I can see his spirit and character in many of you from the Earth Island Institute and beyond. Lisa, Radha, Mikhael, and everyone else, thank you for your impassioned work. There are so many more who deserve thanks but suffice to say you know who you are and I am grateful. "The world is run by those by those who show up. This quote is even more accurate when applied to students. So many in our society expect us to be passive and apathetic. Yet when we refuse to have our future compromised, when we speak up for our beliefs, people and society will take notice. Why? Because student involvement is a rare occurrence that makes people think, "something must really be wrong if students are concerned. And, yes, something is really, really wrong. Sprawl, unrestrained Free Trade, exponential growth in terms of the population and natural resource use threaten our future and quality of life. And while these major problems were caused by generations before us, the major solutions must and will come from students and future generations. So all I have to ask is this -- show up. -- JARED DUVAL