Let’s clean up the park

Twice a year, the Friends of Dora Kelley Nature Park invite neighbors and park visitors to help pick up garbage that’s accumulated along the water, by the rocks, among the trees, on the trail and anywhere in the park.

For the past few years we’ve lived in the neighborhood, we’ve participated a few times. I look forward to these events because I always see people I’ve never seen  before. Last year, I saw a group of students from a nearby middle school pitching in. The more people come out, the more awareness we’ll have of the damage litter can do to such a beautiful park.

Some young folks pitching in.

Volunteers picked up everything from cigarette butts, plastic bags, food wrappers, old bicycles and other garbage at last year’s clean-up effort.

Pick it up, please

It truly is a shame to see people disrespect the public space by throwing their garbage where it suits them.

A pile of garbage sits just several feet away from a trash can located at the entrance to the park.

This particular pile of trash is just a few feet away from the garbage can located at the Sanger Street entrance to the park. Someone would have had to carry this crap right past the trash can, enter the park and dump it all just off the walking trail.

Fortunately, there is a dedicated group of locals in the community who regularly pick up refuse throughout the park. There also is an organized event two or three times a year where trash bags and gloves are provided for volunteers who show up on the designated days to pitch in and pick up. Last fall, we filled an oversized bag with plastic bottles, cigarette butts, junk food wrappers, beer bottles, etc.

Four plastic bottles litter a shallow stream.

I suspect the next cleanup will be in the early fall. Will update here on the next scheduled event.