AMD Avengers vs. The Pollution Posse Activity Book
The History Behind the Book
The EPCAMR staff came up with another “thinking out of the box” idea to talk about AMD/AML with children at an elementary level. The EPCAMR Staff often make presentations in elementary schools at Field Days, Environmental Fairs, and Environmental Forums throughout the Region.
The idea was to create visually stimulating and eye-catching cartoon characters that represented villains and avengers that have evolved from the very same elements of nature that both pollute, and protect and restore the environment on the other end of the spectrum.
The inspiration came from the colorful, although polluted pallet of abandoned mine drainage and its common characteristics–orange water, yellow water, green slime colored water, red water, gray water, black water, and even purple colored hues. From these colors and the metals and minerals associated with the AMD contaminated water, the Regional Coordinator was able to create the personas and physical traits for “The Pollution Posse”.
Landscapes were another natural feature that were included in the activity book. EPCAMR wanted to describe the formation of coal, the geology of a typical anthracite coal seam, features on an abandoned mine site, and what future reclamation of an abandoned mine could look like once the land use was re-contoured, regraded, and redeveloped. Culm banks, abandoned mine tunnels, different types of rocks and trees, water-filled pits, and abandoned coal breakers showcase the detrimental impacts on the environment. Reclamation, sealed up mine tunnels, future land uses for once abandoned coal breakers, visitor centers, and green grass, represent the post-redeveloped abandoned mine sites.
Of course, when one has “The Pollution Posse” an antithesis must be around the corner and that is why “The AMD Avengers” were created. The good guys, the Regional Coordinator himself, the Watershed Outreach Coordinator, limestone, wetlands plants, and side-kicks for the two super-heroes-Dolomite and Wart, represent two of the ways in which we restore the environment, through the use of limestone and improvement to wildlife habitat through native plant materials.
EPCAMR hopes that these characters and activities that are associated with the educational coloring book will teach elementary students about their local environment in order for them to relate to the physical features that are on the landscape in their own backyard and to understand why their streams and rivers run different colors. However, EPCAMR does present the fact that while there are pollution problems that we are faced with in our own communities, there are ways in which they could help to restore the environment through volunteering their time with community groups, non-profits, watershed associations, and local governments to reclaim these abandoned mine lands and to remediate the streams and rivers impacted by AMD. It is our hope that these students use the educational activity/coloring book to explore other facets of the environment that EPCAMR works in on a daily basis, through the exploration of our website and the other links provided within our site.
The artwork for the book was drawn by two friends of the EPCAMR. Art Edel, a friend from the Scranton Area in the Northern Anthracite Coal Fields and Kyle Kramer, another friend from the Pottsville Area in the Southern Anthracite Coal Fields. Both are artists from hard-hit mining impacted communities. Art had an uncanny ability to take the words that came right out-of-the-mouth that would eventually describe the qualities and characteristics of each of the cartoons created to perfection. Art has an eye for details, creative facial expressions, body language, physical traits, and musculature. EPCAMR is looking to create additional characters in the future for other education and outreach means to the general public. EPCAMR purchased the copyright to each of these characters from Art Edel and they may be reproduced or used as image files as long as created in given properly to EPCAMR by including the trademark (c) EPCAMR along with the image or sheets that are reproduced. Kyle’s silly and comical renditions of situations drawn for the mazes and some other light-hearted images within the book brighten up the pages to grab the interest and attention of the students. The entire book or individual pages can be downloaded from this site below.
Download the entire activity book here:
Or you can continue on to each of the next 29 individual pages and print them off one-by-one or selectively according to your needs.