There are plenty of reasons right now to feel less than hopeful. Just getting through a week feels heavier for a lot of folks, and just as our public conversations have gotten meaner and society more divided than I can remember, we’ve also seen here at Rapid Growth some bright moments that just appear and somehow land when we need them most.

And while this column usually sends me digging back twenty years into the Rapid Growth archive. This week, I kept circling back to a story we published less than a year ago that reminds us that hope sometimes begins the moment someone decides to act.

Last November, our Voices of Youth writer Solange Sifa introduced readers to Zoey Tice, a sixth grader from Muskegon who started picking up litter at age 7. She’d been riding in the car with her grandmother when she spotted garbage on the side of the road. Her grandma was worried because Zoey had no gloves, so she improvised with a clean plastic bag instead, and Zoey went to pick up her first piece of trash.

What started with one piece of trash grew into years of cleanup, one handful at a time. By the time Sifa caught up with her, Zoey had hauled in roughly two tons of litter, addressed the Muskegon City Commission, earned a State of Michigan tribute and a Keep Michigan Beautiful Merit Award, and landed a surprise trip to New York for a taping of The Kelly Clarkson Show.

I was there with my camera for some of that story, and what’s stayed with me isn’t the awards. It’s how uncomplicated her answer was when you asked her why. Zoey saw something wrong in the world around her, and she decided she could do something about it.

There may be something in that for the rest of us.

Adults are good at understanding how complicated our problems are. Kids are sometimes just as good at reminding us that complexity isn’t an excuse for inaction. Zoey never needed to know whether her act of kindness to the planet we all share could fix an environmental crisis bigger than all of us that a sense of paralysis sets in leading to inaction. 

Not for Zoey, as she simply bent over with her makeshift glove and picked it up. Then another. And she kept going.

Her principal, Jeff Wilkie, told Sifa that Zoey’s story had already sparked something at Muskegon Montessori Academy for Environmental Change as more kids within the school’s Eco Club were asking what they could take on next. That’s one of the quiet powers of a story like hers. Action has a way of creating more action.

It feels fitting to sit with Zoey’s story again right as students are back in their classrooms and we’re putting together another fall collection from our Voices of Youth program. Year after year, this series keeps teaching us the same lesson: young people notice what adults have stopped seeing, ask the questions we’ve quit asking, and sometimes start moving toward a solution before the rest of us finish arguing about the problem.

We shouldn’t expect this emerging generation to fix the mess adults are handing them. I think that’s why we love what we get to do here — shining a light on the people making a difference, through an intergenerational lens we believe helps reset the scales. And with a little hope, I like to think that somewhere across our last 20 years in this space, there’s an article that’s inspired you to action, too.

Zoey saw trash along the road and bent down to pick it up.

Then she kept going.

Sometimes hope really can begin that simply.

Sixth grader featured on Kelly Clarkson Show inspires community cleanup

By Solange Sifa

Sixth-grader Zoey Tice started picking up litter at age 7. Now, her efforts are inspiring others—earning awards, TV features, and environmental leadership opportunities.

When Zoey was 7, she was riding in the car with her grandmother when she spotted garbage lying on the side of the road. She wanted to pick it up, but her grandma was worried because she didn’t have gloves. A few minutes later, they found a clean plastic bag, and with it, Zoey picked up her first piece of trash.

That small moment turned into something much bigger.

“Ever since then, picking up trash has kind of been my thing,” Zoey says. “I’ve kept doing it for about four or five years now. Since then, I’ve picked up about two one-ton dumpsters’ worth—so two tons.”

National recognition

Zoey was recently featured on The Kelly Clarkson Show for her leadership in cleaning up her hometown of Muskegon by collecting trash in her neighborhood. Her dedication led her to address the Muskegon City Commission, where she encouraged community cleanups and urged city leaders to take action.

She attracted the show’s attention this fall after she received a State of Michigan tribute and a Keep Michigan Beautiful Merit Award. After a story about Zoey appeared on MLive, The Kelly Clarkson Show contacted her family and flew Zoey, her mother, and grandmother to New York for a taping. Zoey had never been on a plane before.

“I was very nervous, but I still did it,” she says.

Clarkson thanked Zoey for her strong dedication to keeping the community clean. As a surprise, Zoey’s family was given an all-inclusive, four-night Caribbean vacation. Zoey will be able to join a project to help the island recover from a recent hurricane.

“In a couple of months, I’ll be going to Jamaica,” she says. “I get to be on an ocean cleanup crew and help with the cleanup.”

‘I think of garbage differently’

Zoey began her sustainability efforts at the age of 7 when she saw a bird bring a cigarette into its nest.

“I’ve seen birds and other small animals try to eat garbage, and it really hurts my feelings when they get hurt,” she says.

Knowing that trash is a danger to wildlife, Zoey is not afraid to help, even when something is skittering across the litter.

“I’m not scared of bugs at all—if I see one on a piece of trash, I’ll pick it up and move it somewhere safe.”

Zoey says people are often surprised that a young girl could care for the environment and take action.

“People are actually shell-shocked because a kid cares about the community for once,” she says.

Zoey picks up plenty of trash every day, and because of this, she understands just how much it affects the environment—and she is always thinking of ways to improve it.

“I’ve never been tired of picking up garbage. I’ve always really liked it. I think of garbage differently. Most of the time, people forget that garbage affects the Earth, and when they’re like, ‘Oh, it’s just a tiny piece of garbage,’ it really does hurt it.

“I like recycling and turning random things that people would call garbage into crafts. And I see a bunch of people trying to recycle and help the Earth, which is really nice—to know that I’m having a good influence.”

School emphasizes stewardship

Zoey attends Muskegon Montessori Academy for Environmental Change, which focuses on nature, outdoor learning, and caring for the environment.

“Sometimes when we’re just sitting outside for a few minutes, I’ll spot a wrapper and encourage my friends to pick it up so our world can be a little cleaner,” Tice says.

Zoey says her school lets her learn in a way that works for her. “What I like about my school is that if you learn differently, they help you learn in that way. They let you think outside the box.”

Principal Jeff Wilkie says Muskegon Montessori Academy for Environmental Change is a certified Green School, demonstrating its commitment to sustainability through educational programs, its physical campus, and community practices.

“Our kids spend a lot of time outside learning, touching, reading, and caring for the environment,” he says. “When the weather allows, they’re doing science lessons outdoors—studying trees, ecosystems, and the world around them.”

Students help raise salmon eggs and look after a protected sturgeon. They also regularly walk to Dune Harbor Park, where they study plants and clean sidewalks near the school.

“We want them to understand how to be good stewards,” Wilkie says. “Environmental education is only going to become more important, and we’re proud to be ahead of the curve.”

Wilkie says Zoey’s passion for the environment fits perfectly with the school’s mission.

“She’s part of Eco Club, and her story has sparked new ideas—kids asking what we can take on next,” he says. “Students are proud of her, and they want to pick up the torch.

“We are so proud of students like Zoey, who go above and beyond in their communities and practice mindful environmental stewardship in their everyday life.”

Zoey Tice dreams of becoming a graphic designer, but she insists her passion for protecting the environment will forever remain in her heart.

“I’ll still stop to pick up litter now and then, but mostly, design feels right for me because I enjoy creating art,” she explains.

When asked Zoey how long she plans on continuing to clean up trash, her answer is simple:
“For as long as I truly can.”

Photos by Tommy Allen

Solange Sifa is a senior attending Lee High School. She likes learning new things. She’s passionate about literature and archaeology. She hopes to one day inspire people to pursue their dreams.

To learn more about Rapid Growth’s Voices of Youth project and read other installments in the series, click here. This series is made possible via underwriting sponsorships from the Steelcase Foundation, Frey Foundation, PNC Foundation, and Kent ISD.