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Students' Plan To Protect Cranes Takes Flight

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By MEGAN HUSSEY, Tribune correspondent

Published: January 27, 2008

NEW PORT RICHEY - When Matt Nuzzo noticed sandhill cranes were being run over in front of Seven Springs Middle School, and on the busy streets nearby, the seventh-grader wanted to do something.

He found his opportunity in Cynthia Tehan's service-learning class, which is undertaking 23 community service projects, ranging from tutoring and peer counseling to helping the homeless.

Matt, 13, wanted to protect the sandhill cranes he saw dying in front of the school on Little Road and nearby on Trinity Boulevard, Mitchell Ranch Road and Robert Trent Jones Parkway.

"At least once a month, I would see one or more cranes lying by the side of the road," he said. "And I know that if a mother bird is killed, chances are its baby won't make it."

He enlisted classmate Jake Ponce de Leon as his co-coordinator and nine others from the service-learning class.

Jake, 13, had also noticed the dead cranes near the school.

"I have told my mother to slow down and watch for them when we're in the car," he said. "I thought that, since we're in a class that's about changing laws and policies, we could do something."

Jake said he eventually would like to see laws passed to protect the cranes and other animals on roadways, but the students decided putting up a street sign was the most practical solution at Seven Springs Middle.

They had to figure out how to do that. Tehan suggested they start by making phone calls to learn what government agency handles street signs.

After touching base with several agencies, Matt decided to "go straight to the top" and called state Sen. Mike Fasano's office.

"The next morning I got a call saying, 'Hello, this is Mike Fasano. Is Matt Nuzzo there?'" Tehan said.

Fasano agreed to write a letter to Pasco County Administrator John Gallagher requesting a street sign outside the school. On Jan. 15, Fasano visited Tehan's class to talk about the political process and how a bill becomes a law.

"He told them, 'A law starts with an idea, just like Matt Nuzzo's idea,'" Tehan said.

While they await an answer about the sign, Matt and his teammates have been talking about the sandhill cranes. Monday, he and several others from his team addressed a group of middle school assistant principals, along with other students undertaking Learn & Serve projects. Florida Learn & Serve is a federally funded program that awards grants to schools and school districts for student service learning. Seven Springs Middle has been designated a pilot site because of the number of projects it has fostered.

Thursday, Matt and members of his team talked to a sixth-grade geography class at the school, detailing their project and practical ways students can help protect the sandhill cranes in their area.

"I offer some guidelines for kids who want to get involved," Matt said. "When their parents are driving, the kids can look out the window and watch for the cranes. And they can remind their parents to keep their eyes on the road and not talk on their cell phones when they're driving."

In Matt's eyes, saving the sandhill cranes is all about making a difference.

"I want to help kids get interested in the community," he said. "I want to see what making a difference can do."

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