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<\/a><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\ndennis chestnut first learned how to swim at the mouth of watts branch, a tributary that feeds straight into the anacostia river in washington, d.c., a river that has become so polluted that it is no longer legal to swim in.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
chestnut is a lifelong resident of ward 7, located in the northeast quadrant of washington, d.c. the ward is home to over 74,000 people, and is about 87% black and 5% white. additionally, around 20% of families in the ward live below the poverty line.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
chestnut found his passion for environmental justice at a young age and has devoted his life to making his community a sustainable place through new developments, educational programs, and water cleanup efforts.<\/p>\n\n\n
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\u201cthis community is what really contributed to why i\u2019m passionate about everything i\u2019m passionate about,\u201d chestnut said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
in a country where over 50% of rivers and lakes are considered \u201ctoo polluted\u201d to swim in, cleanup efforts are becoming more important \u2014 and more common \u2014 than ever before. despite being named the greenest ward in washington by the d.c. office of planning, ward 7 has historically been neglected when it comes to environmental and sustainability efforts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
chestnut is aiming to change that through extensive research and initiatives that will make the ward, and eventually the entire city of d.c., a more sustainable and safe place to live. he is especially involved in the effort to take the anacostia off of the list of \u201cunswimmable\u201d rivers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
chestnut\u2019s commitment to his community and the river continue to inspire others throughout d.c., leading to him being named \u201clifetime champion of the chesapeake\u201d by the chesapeake conservatory.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cwhen you get out there, you might not be able to come out of it\u201d<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
according to chestnut, besides the occasional episode of the mickey mouse clubhouse that he would watch after school, nothing on the television really interested him as a young boy. instead, he spent a great deal of time outside with his friends, whether it was interacting with nature in the woods or playing in the stream of watts branch.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cit didn\u2019t matter whether it was summer, winter, spring, or fall,\u201d chestnut said, \u201cwe were out there.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
the older kids, who teased and challenged chestnut and his younger friends to get into the river, had been swimming there long enough to know how to keep everyone safe.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cthey would warn us, and it kept us from getting out into the portion of the river where there was current,\u201d chestnut said. \u201cand they told us why. they say when you get out there, you might not be able to come out of it.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
although he was able to avoid the dangerous current in his childhood years, chestnut was eventually swept up by the need to make the river cleaner. his passion for the health of the river mirrored the power of the tide. after so many years of diving in, he has yet to come out of it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n