“What is all that commotion?” I thought, yawning and waking up from my nap at the bottom of the lake. Just think – I could hear enough noise to wake me up, even from way down deep in the lake!

I swam up to the surface, all in a huff because a big bass like me needs his beauty sleep! When I popped my head out of the water, I saw a big group of kids on the shore, yelling and holding signs. And at the head of the group was Cindy – I should have known!

“Cindy! What in the world are you doing at my lake screaming and yelling and waking me up?”

“Oh sorry Louie!” she said. “We didn’t mean to wake you up. Me and my friends are getting ready to go protest at Apocalypse Fields! We don’t want them dumping toxic stuff in your lake, and we’re going to let them know it!”

The kids behind her all yelled “YEAH!” and started waving their homemade signs that said things like “Lakes are for swimming, not dumping” and “Chemicals Kill!”

The kids were pumped up. They knew they were doing the right thing –  making their voices heard. They were small, but powerful!

“Well Cindy, if I had legs you know I’d join you, but these fins won’t get me far on land,” I said.

“Don’t worry, we’ve got this!” she said. I could see in her eyes how excited she was. When Cindy puts her mind to something, there’s no stopping her!

Just then, huffing and puffing up the trail came Fat Chance, Cindy’s dad. He did not look happy.

“Cindy what do you think you’re gonna accomplish by protesting?” he asked, obviously annoyed. “You’re just kids. Nobody is going to listen to a bunch of kids.”

“You’re wrong dad!” Cindy said. “We’re just kids, sure, but we have a voice. It’s our job to protect the environment so we can still go swimming and fishing when we grow up!”

“Plus,” she said, “We’re not doing this alone. We called the local newspaper and TV news to tell them there’s a big protest going on at Apocalypse Fields today. So they’re going to cover it. With the media there, we can reach so many more people!”

“This is a good way to get other people involved. No one but us even knows what’s going on at Apocalypse Fields. There is strength in numbers, and the more people we can get on our side, the more powerful we’ll be!”

“So what if you have a lot of people?” Fat Chance asked. “Who cares?”

“Well dad, it’s simple,” Cindy said. “Everyone has the power to make change, either by doing the work themselves, influencing other people to make change, or by working with lawmakers to make better laws. That’s called activism. The more people we have involved, the more work we can get done!”

“Hmph,” Fat Chance huffed. “Well, whatever Cindy. I think you’re wasting your time!”

Cindy ignored her dad’s negative attitude and turned to scan her crowd of friends, family and friendly eco-warriors.

“Ok guys, it’s time. You ready?” she yelled.

A huge, loud “YYEEAAHHHH!” rang back from the crowd.

“Then let’s go!!”

Find out what went down at the protest in A Stinky Situation Part 7: Too Much of a Good Thing