[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 150 (2004), Part 6]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 7986]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




  CONGRATULATING WINNERS OF THE 2003 PRESIDENT'S ENVIRONMENTAL YOUTH 
                                 AWARD

                                 ______
                                 

                         HON. JAMES R. LANGEVIN

                            of rhode island

                    in the house of representatives

                       Wednesday, April 28, 2004

  Mr. LANGEVIN. Mr. Speaker, I rise to congratulate Miguel Blanco, 
Olabisi Davies, and Taja Gonsalves on winning the 2003 President's 
Environmental Youth Award. These three students are all residents of 
Providence, Rhode Island, and participate in the Groundwork Providence 
Education Team.
  Groundwork Providence, which is part of the national nonprofit 
Groundwork USA network, develops community based partnerships that work 
to regenerate, improve and manage the physical environment. The 
Education Team is aimed at getting students involved in taking care of 
their community and teaching others to do the same. The President's 
Environmental Youth Awards program is sponsored by the U.S. 
Environmental Protection Agency's Office of Environmental Education. 
The program helps promote environmental awareness and community 
involvement among young people. Only ten exceptional projects are 
picked per year.
  Mr. Blanco, a junior at Mt. Pleasant High School; Ms. Davies, a 
senior at North Providence High School; and Ms. Gonsalves, a freshman 
at the Health & Science Technology High School, plan and run after 
school programs for younger students. They also help run summer 
environmental education camps, attend training sessions and workshops, 
and take part in projects to clean up the community.
  Mr. Speaker, these inspiring students have become important role 
models not only to younger children, but also to their communities. I 
hope my colleagues join me in congratulating them on their 
accomplishments and wishing them all the best as they continue their 
education and community involvement.

                          ____________________