B-CC students hit trail to activism

Class project sparks student interest in Capital Crescent Trail

‘‘It definitely has opened my eyes to take up any issue that I feel strongly about, to take initiative and do something about it,” McCarty said.

The class’s teacher, Nathan Herchenroeder, said his motive was to convince students that citizen participation is necessary to a democracy.

‘‘As teenagers, they can’t even vote. They feel like it’s hard to make a difference,” Herchenroeder said. ‘‘I would say a lot of kids were cynical about it.”

The project began with students brainstorming a 32-item list of issues that ranged from changing the crosswalk outside of the school to ending racism and poverty.

They settled on the Capital Crescent Trail, an 11-mile trail linking Georgetown, in Washington, with Silver Spring. The trail runs through Bethesda, just blocks from the high school.

Activists want to prevent a proposed Purple Line bus or light-rail train from running beside the trail. They have lobbied to keep sections of the trail open despite development in downtown Bethesda. The class joined in on both of those fronts.

‘‘I said every kid had to take five public actions,” like sending e-mails to local policymakers, interest groups or Gov. Martin O’Malley, Herchenroeder said. Some students interviewed walkers, joggers and bikers using the trail. Others made fliers or posters.

The students then documented the ‘‘results” of their tasks — usually written replies or form letters from public officials, agencies, politicians or community members.

The exercise quickly sparked student interest in an issue that has for years caused a clash among environmentalists, transit enthusiasts, residents and the business community.

‘‘I really didn’t care about the trail, because I never used it, and I never really thought about using it because I lived in Kensington,” McCarty said. ‘‘It was forced. I didn’t want to do it. But then I started to really enjoy it.”

McCarty said he interviewed trail users including his first-period math teacher. He began to personally oppose the teardown of trees along the trail for the purpose of running an above-ground Purple Line train through Bethesda and Chevy Chase.

Some opposition to the proposed Purple Line transit link between Bethesda and New Carrollton comes from nearby residents, especially in the Town of Chevy Chase.

‘‘I made a flier just for the project,” McCarty said. ‘‘And even when I was writing words to it, it made me think, ‘Wow, this is really important to a lot of Bethesda natives to have their trail.’”

The transit line also has considerable support and is part of Montgomery County’s master plan. One classmate, who McCarty said he couldn’t identify, spoke in favor of the Purple Line.

Another student, Mimi Ray, moved to the United States from India three months ago. She had never heard of the Capital Crescent Trail before the class project. Now she’s passionate about her side of the issue.

‘‘I got really interested,” Ray said. ‘‘For convenience sake, we are ready to destroy so many trees and so much of nature. The whole world is trying to save trees and stop global warming.”

Town of Chevy Chase Councilman Mier Wolf said two B-CC students from the class have contacted him about the trail.

‘‘High school students impress legislators when they step up and comment on issues,” Wolf said, adding that he would have advocated for the trail as a high school student.