Central Heights students hold ‘Dive Against Debris’ event to clean Lake Naconiche

NACOGDOCHES, Texas (KTRE) - Central Heights students, teachers and local divers spent their Saturday afternoon cleaning Lake Naconiche in an effort to help keep local lakes clean.

LJ Bouche was part of a group of Central Heights students who joined the “Dive Against Debris.”

“It’s inspiring to see how many people we have out here helping out the community,” Bouche said.

Members of the student council and Beta Club joined together to help make a difference.

“It feels good to know that we’re giving back to our community. We’re able to clean up our ecosystem here, and it’s good to see our student council kids being able to give back to their community. so we’re teaching them young that it’s important to pay it forward,” Michaelle Coker, a science teacher at Central Heights, said.

She worked alongside students on Saturday to remove trash from Lake Naconiche. She said it not only helps the community but makes a difference in the kids’ lives.

“Their biggest takeaway is just realizing that this is actually a problem. You look around, and on the surface it looks clean, but once you get into the water, it’s a completely different story,” she said.

Bella Downing is a part of the school’s Beta Club, and she said that she’s excited to be a part of that change.

“The importance of being here for me is to kinda keep these lakes that we use for the community clean, so they can be good for other people as well as preserve the wildlife that is here,” Downing said.

Donna Johnson, a diver and an advisor for Central Heights’ student council, hopes that they can continue doing this for years to come and even start cleaning other lakes around East Texas.

Coker also reminds families who do go out to the lake to pick up after themselves to continue to take care of the area wildlife.