Each day, more reports come out confirming in more detail what we already know. The environment and the animals that call this planet home are dying off at an alarming rate thanks to our carelessness.
Most people think a single person couldn’t possibly make a difference, but one 12-year-old girl in England went out and proved everyone wrong. In 2018, she even made international news for what she had to overcome to do it…
Surrounded By Garbage
While on her way to Hellesdon High School in Norwich, England in September 2017, 12-year-old Nadia Sparkes couldn’t help but notice garbage including plastic bags, bottles, and food wrappers littered all over the streets.
A Heartbreaking Realization
It broke Nadia’s heart to see how much there was in the short 2-mile journey from her home to her high school, and how careless people were for doing nothing to clean up after themselves. Instead of complain about it, Nadia decided to do something about it…
Getting To Work
In that moment, the 12-year-old decided she would go out and pick up the trash while riding her bike to school. Each day, Nadia got up early to get on the road and collected as much garbage as she could while making her way to her high school.
A Little Each Day
By the time Nadia got to school, the basket on her bike would be filled to the brim with soda cans, plastic bottles, and wrappers. Even though she could only collect so much garbage with each trip, Nadia felt so proud that she was actually doing something to protect the environment…
Passing The Blame
Like most people, Nadia never felt like she could possibly make a difference on her own. But while on her way to school, she asked herself why no one was going out and cleaning up and realized that she was just as guilty for doing nothing.
Runs In The Family
When Nadia’s mom, Paula, heard why her daughter was getting up and leaving early for school, she was proud but not very surprised. According to Paul, Nadia’s grandfather walks the beaches in Mundesley, a sea-side village 136 miles north-east of London, picking up other people’s garbage…
Making Mom Proud
Paula was incredibly proud that her daughter had taken after her grandfather and was trying to do something to save the environment. Unfortunately, other people in Nadia’s life didn’t share Paula’s view on her clean-up efforts.
The Bullying Begins
When Paula’s classmates at Hellesdon High School noticed she was arriving to school on her bike with a basket full of garbage, they started teasing her about it. Soon enough, the annoying teasing turned into name-calling and actual bullying…
Bullies at Nadia’s school started calling her ‘trash girl’. The name stuck, and soon, everyone was calling Nadia the cruel name. As if the name-calling wasn’t enough, the bullies started ordering Nadia to pick up garbage that they would intentionally throw on the ground.
According to the bullies, Nadia had to clean up after them since it was ‘her job’. Faculty at the high school had been supportive of Nadia when they heard about the bullying, but they weren’t really doing anything to put an end to the cruelty…
When Paula heard about what was happening at school, she told Nadia her options. “I told her she had two choices, she could either stop collecting rubbish, stop drawing their attention and hopefully they would leave her alone,” Paula said. “Or she could own [the name] “trash girl.”
The Right Thing To Do
Nadia considered her choices. She knew that the bullies would stop if she stopped picking up trash every morning before school, but she knew it was the right thing to do. Even though it would most likely make her life more difficult, the brave 12-year-old decided she wasn’t going to give in to the bullies…
Rising Above The Bullies
Nadia wasn’t willing to stop picking up garbage and disposing of it responsibly, so instead, she decided to own her new nickname. “I’m not going to stop doing the right thing because of them, and if they are going to call me trash girl, they can say it with respect,” Nadia added.
The Project Continues
“Nadia will be continuing to collect the bottles and cans that line her route to and from school,” Paula said. “It’s just a shame that so much is being dropped in the first place and that she has even been mocked for doing something so good…”
“I’m doing something to protect the world they also live in. “It’s everyone’s job. We are all responsible for keeping this world safe, instead of believing that it’s always someone else’s job,” said the 12-year-old, who is truly wise beyond her years.
Standing Up For The Planet
Just on her way to and from school, Nadia has managed to collect about 3 recycling bins worth of other people’s garbage. “As a family, we are extremely proud of Nadia, not only for standing up to bullies but also for standing up for what she believes is right,” Paula said…
After word spread about Nadia’s impressive mission and her bravery for staying true to herself in the face of bullies, she started making headlines all over the country. Soon after that, people all around the globe started hearing about ‘trash girl’.
Praise From Around The World
“YOU [Nadia] sweetheart are a star that shines really bright above the rest. Hold your head high and never ever let anyone dull your uniqueness. You are doing something selfless and amazing. Shame on those that feel the need to belittle those people who choose to make a difference,” a reader named Lisa Brewster told Nadia in a comment online…
Words Of Encouragement
“It was like turning off a tap. Ever since the story’s gone out Nadia’s not had any negative comments,” Paula said. Nadia didn’t start her project for praise, but she was overjoyed when messages started flooding in from people all over the world that encouraged her to keep going. “She just sat there [reading the responses to her mission] and said ‘I am not on my own anymore.’”
Team Trash Girl
Nadia started a ‘Team Trash Girl’ Facebook page and is encouraging people around the world to share photos of themselves getting out and picking up trash. Now, a local production company has even turned Nadia into a cartoon superhero. “We think Nadia’s a superhero for putting the planet first,” said Alex Jeffrey, from Creative Native. “We created this image for Nadia to say a big ‘thank you’ to her and to offer our support for her fantastic work… We also wanted to see if our image could inspire a nationwide cartoon, sent to schools to inspire more young people to do the same fantastic work.”