From Small Steps to Big Impact
How One Irvine Student is Cleaning Up the Planet, One Piece of Trash at a Time
When most teenagers are still hitting snooze on their alarms, 15-year-old Claire Chong is lacing up her shoes, grabbing a trash picker, and heading out the door. At 5 a.m., while the world sleeps, she is already on a mission, not just to get to school on time, but to clean up the environment along the way.
Claire, a sophomore at Portola High School, began her environmental journey at just eight years old. What started as research for an art competition on pollution opened her eyes to the magnitude of our planet’s challenges. “I came across multiple websites stating how severe and serious environmental pollution is in the world. It shocked me,” she said. But what happened next is what makes Claire’s story so inspiring, she didn’t just feel overwhelmed; she felt called to act.
The Birth of a Plogger
During a walk around her neighborhood with her parents, Claire was disturbed by the amount of litter strewn across sidewalks and plants. Rather than turning away, she ran home, grabbed gloves, tongs, and a trash bag, and began cleaning. “Ever since that day,” Claire said, “that’s where my plogging journey began.”
Plogging, a term born in Sweden, combines jogging with picking up trash. Claire describes it as “a healthy and simple activity that anyone can do to take care of the Earth and their own health.” For her, it’s more than a morning routine. It’s a statement of responsibility, a form of resistance, and a daily act of kindness to the world.
A Mission Bigger Than Herself
Claire believes that the health of our planet is just as critical as our own well-being. “Just like how our bodies suffer when we are sick, so does the Earth,” she explained. “We all have the same responsibility to take care of our planet.”
That mindset fuels her daily habits: she brings reusable utensils and a personal water bottle in her backpack, walks to school to reduce emissions, and spends her early minutes on campus picking up
litter in the parking lot, bike racks, and fields. “It’s helped me grow mentally and physically,” Claire shared. “And I’ve come to really appreciate the outdoor breeze and nature much more.”
Her commitment hasn’t gone unnoticed. Claire’s journey, once a solitary mission, has sparked global conversations. By sharing her work online, she’s connected with people from around the world, even forming partnerships with individuals working on city-level environmental issues. “What started as a small personal action grew into something much more impactful. A community of people from different countries doing the same thing as me. Plogging.”
Perseverance in the Face of Challenges
But Claire’s journey hasn’t been without difficulties. In her early days of plogging, she and her mother once collected over 700 cigarette butts in a single outing. “The smell gave me a terrible headache. I was furious to see how careless people were,” she recalled. Instead of giving up, she chose to focus on what she could control. “Complaining won’t lead to anything. I decided to forgive and focus on my own responsibilities.”
Now, with school becoming more demanding, Claire’s early morning plogging routine has become not just an act of service, but a personal discipline that strengthens her time management and resilience. “It’s a part of who I am now,” she said proudly.
A Future Rooted in Purpose
Claire’s story is a powerful reminder of what young people are capable of when given opportunities and space to grow. Her early spark was nurtured by supportive parents, a caring school environment, and programs like those offered by Irvine Public Schools Foundation (IPSF), where she took creative writing, sewing, coding, and drawing classes. “I still have vivid memories of what I did in those classes because of how much I enjoyed them,” she said. “They really helped me explore what I was passionate about.”
Today, Claire continues to explore her path and is considering a future in environmental science. But one thing is certain: whatever she does, she’ll be leading with purpose. Her message to the world is simple but profound: “No action is too small when it comes to protecting our planet.”
A Call to Action
Claire’s story isn’t just about picking up trash, it’s about picking up hope. It’s about choosing responsibility over resentment, progress over perfection, and impact over inaction.
She reminds us that the world doesn’t need a few people doing sustainability perfectly. It needs everyone doing what they can. “Whether it’s using reusable containers, walking instead of driving, or simply being more aware, every action counts,” she says.
And in that spirit, Claire continues to wake up early each morning, not just to go to school, but to change the world, one piece of litter at a time.
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