May 14 & 15, 2008
Buffalo, NY

at the
Buffalo Museum of Science

2006 Statement of Stewardship (S.O.S)

 We, the students of the Great Lakes Student Summit 2006, hereby state the following to protect and preserve the Great Lakes environment:

We promise to follow the 4 R’s:  Rethink, Reduce, Reuse, Recycle - and act by carrying reusable water bottles, lunch containers and following other conservation practices.
 

We are committed to reducing our own litter and to join in community clean ups to pick up garbage that has been dumped by others.
 
We will educate our classmates, peers, community and family about environmental issues and concerns, such as water pollution, litter and invasive species.
 
We promise to use bicycles for transportation and walk short distances to help the environment and encourage others to do so.
 

We will ask our schools to be more environmentally conscious by using compost bins, recycling containers and better signs to help students join in this important effort.
 
We promise to join in beach sweeps, tree plantings and other restoration efforts.
 
We promise to practice water and energy conservation, pesticide reduction and other environmentally friendly practices and convince our families and friends to do the same.
 
We will encourage school officials and governmental representatives to support legislative efforts such as the New York State Bigger Better Bottle Bill to protect, maintain and restore the environment of the Great Lakes Basin.
 
And finally, we will take what we have learned at the Great Lakes Student Summit to become part of the solution rather than part of the problem.