She baby-sits, she recycles - she's Super Dawn!

I could feel my voice growing louder with excitement as I said, "Do you realize how many items can be recycled? Newspapers, computer papers, plastic bottles, glass bottles, jars, aluminum foil." I pointed to Claud's wastebasket, where a empty Coke can lay. "That can. You could redeem it and get a nickel."

"Oops!" Claud giggled. "I guess I was just being lazy."

"Boy," Kristy said to Stacey under her breath. "Dawn's really gotten serious."

"You're right," I said, folding my arms across my chest. "This is very important to me, and it should be to all of you."

"It is," Mary Anne said gently. "I guess we're just not as upset about it as you are."

"Well, you should be." I pointed to Mary Anne's record book. "Look at the amount of paper you waste by just writing on one side of each sheet. Did you know that each of us uses 580 pounds of paper a year? And it takes 15 years for a tree to grow big enough to be made into paper. That's a lot of time and trees that are wasted."

Mary Anne stared down at the club record book, her cheeks now a deep red. "Next time I promise to write on both sides of the paper, Dawn."

I realized that I had embarrassed her and I felt bad about it. "Thanks, Mary Anne," I said, with an encouraging smile. "It means a lot to me.

The next fifteen minutes were filled with phone calls, so we couldn't talk about my project anymore. Just before the meeting ended, Claud announced, "I want everyone to come into the kitchen and see the new jewelry I've made. There's one for each of you. And," she raised one finger, "Dawn will be glad to hear that my jewelry is completely biodegradable."

Everyone giggled but me. I knew that I was really starting to sound like a grumpy old teacher, lecturing everyone, but I couldn't help it. If I couldn't convince the BSC of the importance of protecting our planet, how was I going to convince the town of Stoneybrook?

Dawn Saves the Planet
Published by Scholastic Inc. 1996
ISBN: 059045658X