Last month, we posted about La Loma, a special green space in East Austin that has been neglected by the city and strewn with years of toxic trash. ATX EJ leaders and Sierra Club Outings went on a hike with Pete Rivera and his brother Raymond, who have explored there for decades. Several Young Scholars for Justice (YSJ), a program of PODER, also traversed La Loma and saw first hand the discrepancy between green spaces east and west of I-35. Steps are being taken to persuade the city of Austin to clean up this beautiful space and protect it. Meanwhile, Rivera, a leader with the Springdale-Airport Neighborhood Association and PODER board member, shared a moving poem, written collectively by recent YSJ graduates.
La Loma
Group poem written by YSJ - June 2015
It’s terrible how people disrespect the world by throwing trash all over the place
The people on Hungry Hill are sad because of their surroundings
It feels wrong to see its pain become so insane
The Hungry Hill got some people emotional while walking through it
Seeing how other people trash the environment is very hurtful
It’s very disrespectful to litter on Mother Nature
I was angry at the contamination
Rage built about the fact people are too lazy to pick up their sorrows and unwanted items
We are pushed around when the city of Austin does not want to clean up La Loma
It’s getting treated with rudeness
As my eyes appears of the devastating sight of how people treat the environment and how they take away such a beautiful view
The environment should be protected but instead it is being neglected
Horrible, terrible, take it as a lesson use it as a confession.
They created our fate. Clean up is never too late.
Hungry Hill was depressing - seeing was heart breaking but had a beautiful and perfect view to see.
PODER’s Young Scholars for Justice project is dedicated to the development of youth and young adults of color to address education, environmental, economic and social justice issues affecting them and ensure gender, racial and resources equity. The project promotes youth and young adult integration in all areas of PODER’s program work.
