Clean Water Action national activist group brings message of ‘zero waste’ to Malden High School students

Youth Action Collaborative celebrates World Recycling Day on March 18

By Steve Freker

The message is simple: “Fighting for clean water is all we do.” That is the first line you will read on the website of the national activist group Clean Water Action, which celebrated its 50th birthday in 2022.

Clean Water Action’s founder – in 1972 – was David Zwick, who was instrumental in writing and securing passage of the federal Clean Water Act of 1972. Sadly, Zwick passed away after an illness just over a month ago at the age of 75 on February 5.

According to Clean Water Action representatives, “The Clean Water Act ended the culture of dumping raw sewage and untreated industrial waste into our waters and led to a dramatic improvement in the health and safety of waterways across the country.”

In its 50-plus years, Clean Water Action has expanded on a national basis to all 50 states, from its base in Washington, D.C. One of these outreach states is Massachusetts. For the past several months, Malden High School students from MHS educator Kathy Maglio’s classes and others at the school have reaped the benefits of a regular outreach from Clean Water Action MA.

Omesa Monkaya is the Youth Engagement Program Manager for Clean Water Action MA, and he is a regular visitor to Malden High student members of the MHS Youth Action Collaborative. Monkaya works with the student members and staff to familiarize them with the Clean Water Action concepts and initiatives, both national and state issues.

This week, on Tuesday, March 18, Monkaya was at Malden High School to help the Youth Action Collaborative mark World Recycling Day. To help celebrate, Monkaya led the group in some activities where they learned how to tackle waste and “embrace a zero waste lifestyle,” Monkaya said in a post on X (formerly Twitter). “These future leaders will build our sustainable future!” Monkaya added to his post on Wednesday.

Monkaya, who grew up in the Kisii highlands in Western Kenya, says he “witnessed firsthand the devastating impacts of climate change and made it a personal mission to help communities adapt to and enhance their resilience towards those impacts.”

Monkaya graduated from Clark University in Worcester in the summer of 2023 with a master’s degree in Environmental Science & Policy with a concentration in Climate Change Impacts & Adaptation. He brings his over eight years of experience in environmental campaigning and climate advocacy to his role at Clean Water Action as the Youth Engagement Program Manager where he will be adapting the Youth Action Collaborative curriculum and empowering youth – including the Youth Action Collaborative at Malden High School – to take action on environmental issues in Massachusetts.