volunteer Spotlight
elijah mcknight
“If I could share one message with other people about the environment, it would be. Bring service to the community before self. It brings a difference and big impact to our environment, compared to nothing at all. And over time, nature will reward you back for your commitment to healing her.”
Elijah McKnight, a 10th grade student at DC International School in northern Washington, DC, used his time during the pandemic to clean up Rock Creek Park. By participating in weekly individual cleanups, walking the length of the park from the northern tip down to the mouth of the creek near the confluence at Georgetown Waterfront, Elijah spent many hours and removed over 60 pounds of litter from our treasured urban oasis.
Elijah went on to found and lead a Rock Creek Conservancy Club at his school, training his classmates on local environmental concerns, hosting litter cleanups and other restoration activities, and helping to build a culture of stewardship in his school community.
We wanted to learn what inspires him to remain so committed to Rock Creek Park, so we visited him in the field and asked him some questions! Read our interview below to learn more.
Elijah poses before he gets ready to begin a trash cleanup at Glover Archbold Park.
“I believe it is our job to bring service to the environment before self. Everytime we initiate a cleanup, we’re contributing to a cause that will heal nature.”
Interview with elijah
Elijah and his mom have enjoyed spending time together giving back to their community and cleaning up the parks.
Question: Do you go to the park often? What do you love about Rock Creek Park?
Elijah McKnight (EM): I usually go to Rock Creek Park during the Summer time, when you don’t exactly have to worry much about academics, work, and whatever important periods you spend time on. Summer time in D.C provides the most serene and peaceful weather throughout the seasons, so it’s convenient to go there when you don’t have to worry about much, and the weather is nice. What I personally love about Rock Creek Park is the scenery and the calm weather that comes along with it during appropriate times. Whether you’re taking a bike ride through the diverse amounts of trails, walking by the creekside while staring into the creek and up at the blue skies, or sitting by the creekside while looking at the other side of the creek, into the wide forest.
Q: Favorite trail, location, or landmark in the park?
EM: My personal favorite location of Rock Creek Park would be sitting by the stream, on the other side against the historic landmark called Peirce Mill. You have a wide view and scenery of both the landmark, the trails, the forest, and the skies to look up at, all while sitting down and enjoying the weather.
Q: How long have you been interested in the outdoors and environmentalism? What sparked this interest?
EM: I have been interested in the outdoors, environmentalism, and overall have grown a lot more appreciation towards it for a long time now. When you start taking a look at articles and news about the current state of our environments around the world, you’ll see at least one article regarding climate change, or pollution of either our forests, oceans, or national parks. It does not sound concerning until you start looking at the images, the pain in people’s voices when they explain about it, and even when you go to see it yourself. Seeing our environment being polluted from all kinds of litter and waste shows that the world is not much of it left, compared to older times. But we can still do our best to preserve our national parks and waterways, to still have many parts of nature to appreciate and enjoy. Because at the end of the day, climate change and pollution has still not been solved worldwide, it has gotten even worse overtime. If the world keeps in this direction, then there won’t be much to see in the future. Our Earth can only withstand so much before she starts firing back at humanity. So I believe it is our job to bring service to the environment before self. Everytime we initiate a cleanup, we’re contributing to a cause that will heal nature.
Q: How do you work to protect Rock Creek?
EM: I volunteer to protect Rock Creek by starting solo cleanups during my spare time, usually every Saturday, and attending every meet up that is started by the Conservancy staff. During other parts of my leisure time, I will go around the neighbourhood and other communities to post flyers, business cards, and posters. This is to influence the community and let them know what we’re trying to provide for the community, which is a safe and clean national park. This is to inspire and encourage others to volunteer for the Conservancy to build the number of volunteers.
Q: If you could share one message with fellow young people about the environment, what would it be?
EM: If I could share one message with other people about the environment, it would be. Bring service to the community before self. It brings a difference and big impact to our environment, compared to nothing at all. And over time, nature will reward you back for your commitment to healing her.