community . `` We have a lot of issues to work on -- the problem of water contamination ; there 's so much trash , '' Salva says . `` We ca n't just think that it will take care of itself . '' Salva , who has been a teacher in Jujuy for 20 years , says the environmental issues are n't recent ones . Ten years ago , she and her students noticed a lot of trash outside the school . `` The parks surrounding the school were littered with plastic bottles and beer bottles , '' recalls Salva . They began volunteering with a government program , collecting and bagging waste in the area . But the program waned after a year , and students and teachers could no longer continue their environmental efforts . `` Our city had no formal recycling program or even knowledge of why it was important to learn about fresh water , forestation , and the importance of recycling , '' says Salva . So Salva began Esperanza de Vida in 1997 to organize and lead young participants in `` making our streets and our environment cleaner . '' `` I believe
TILCARA , Argentina -LRB- CNN -RRB- -- Carmen Salva 's mission may be ambitious , but her belief is simple : `` It 's never too early to start caring for the land you live in and grow up in . '' Carmen Salva : `` It 's a great joy to know that I am preparing a new generation to respect the environment . '' That 's why on Saturdays , Salva and a group of 60 to 100 students , parents and teachers can be found venturing into the high altitude of their northern Argentina mountains , trash bags in hand and llamas in tow . They 're part of Esperanza de Vida -LRB- Hope for Life -RRB- , Salva 's youth environmental group that is out to clean up the surroundings , one plastic bottle at a time . Salva , 49 , was born and raised in the Jujuy province of northern Argentina , an area known for its rich culture and spectacular vistas -- `` the reason why most people fall in love with it , '' says Salva . But despite its beauty , Salva says there 's no real environmental consciousness in her