Mikayla, (seated) and several of her friends at the end of Mikayla’s Hubbard Park clean up with several bags filled with trash and recyclables to be disposed of properly. Text and photo by David Knox.Nine-year old Mikayla Tolliver, the daughter of Kitty and Michael Tolliver of Chili, came home from school one day with notebook in hand and shared with her mother that she wanted to organize a park clean up to do something to help make the world a better place. According to her mother, Mikayla had all the details for what she wanted to do written down including a list of friends she wanted to invite, a list of supplies needed, and what they all should wear to the clean up: green or blue earth colors. Mikayla’s mother, in addition, felt Mikayla was inspired by her Girl Scout troop leader Becky Hurst and her daughter, Lauren, who, at a meeting, had a conversation about endangered animals.
Mikayla’s mother said she felt it was important to support her daughter because it’s not very often a child of Mikayla’s age is so concerned about the environment and wanting to make a difference. She contacted Chili Recreation to inform them of Mikayla’s plan.
Mikayla’s park clean up took place on Monday, April 30 at Hubbard Park in North Chili. Many friends, family members of friends, her scout leader, and scouts showed up for the clean up. Teams spent about an hour covering all areas of the park. Several bags were filled with trash and recyclables to be disposed of properly. At the end of the clean up, Mikayla and her friends were happy with what they had done to make the world a better place.
