Climate change activist Greta Thunberg demonstrated how teens can make a big difference. In Ossipee Stella Lunt, a 15-year-old a sophomore at Kingswood Regional High School, has attended and spoken out frequently at the Meena gas station hearings in Effingham. She is a wonderful for example for teens and adults alike.
Stella Lunt is a civic minded sophomore at Kingswood Regional High School.
Here is her story published by Ossipee Lake Alliance. Here are some key excerpts:
For the past two years, Stella has ramped-up her environmental commitment by being a visible and vocal attendee at the Meena gas station hearings. She has written letters, spoken out, and learned from observing the proceedings, which she attends with her mother, Billie Lunt. She is a notable young presence in a sea of adults.
Most people learned about Meena’s application by reading about it. Stella learned about it first-hand because her school bus stop is directly in front of
the Meena site, which is the former Boyle’s Market. That likely made her the rst in her neighborhood to see construction workers arrive one day two years ago and start digging things up.She asked her mother what was going on, and her mom asked the workmen, who told her to mind her own business. That got their attention. Later it was found the work was illegal and had to be shut down by the town.
By then, Stella had learned a lot about the owner and the application and the hearing process by which Efngham will decide whether a gas station will be safe for the public, including her family, friends and neighbors. She and her mom have attended all of the hearings except one when Stella had a school conict.
The gas station would be built above the Ossipee Aquifer, which stretches all the way to Sandwich, so this our town’s issue too.