“It’s a skid plate!” Not even halfway through second period somebody found a sizeable car part. Across Box Butte Avenue, a thick rubber mat earned bragging rights for heaviest piece of litter – just before this Alliance High School biology class wrapped up their phase of an Earth Day cleanup.
Recycling usually comes to mind when I think of “Bulldog Green” in regards to Alliance Public Schools. Students, teachers, staff and administrators all pitch in. This past month saw more than a hundred AHS sophomores going beyond tossing a pop bottle in a blue bin. Second-year Alliance High teacher Sophie Fox organized an all-day project to remove trash from around the school, along Snake Creek pathway and by Laing Lake.
The 10th graders drew a beautiful Friday, between days of gale force winds that blew debris for miles. I found the students starting out near the dormant tennis courts around 9 o’clock. Not long after entering the creek drainage (still bone dry at the time), one of the guys found a live snake. The fortunate reptile was soon left in peace though I am sure an argument could have been made for capture and further study in class. Mr. Stout supplied our sophomore biology class with dead sharks to dissect. Cool, but I don’t remember anything special for Earth Day.
For the holiday in 2021, Fox did a cleanup day during one period for her Advanced Earth Science students around the campus. “I wanted to expand it out a bit,” she said.
This year, Fox e-mailed Keep Alliance Beautiful Education Coordinator Kari Bargen and asked how to help. “I figured this was a way to be hands on and get out of the classroom and help out a little bit,” Fox said.
I would say that is a modest assessment. One hundred and ten teens working throughout their school day really spruced up this corner of the community. Even though a portion of litter is not intentional, it is all ugly. The biology students’ efforts came as residents look around to enjoy the greening grass, budding trees and blooming flowers, not bottles and bags, on a morning walk.
Litter pickups are all about removing what does not belong. The Keep America Beautiful Great American Cleanup continues until June 22 in Alliance and communities throughout the country. Our downtown office, open 9-4 weekdays on the second floor of Bank of the West, supports local efforts with supplies on hand for individuals, families, groups and organizations. We are able to log and apply volunteer hours as part of grant applications as well.
Like the spring wind in western Nebraska, litter never seems to end. Combine the two someday soon. See if you can fill a 55-gallon trash bag with litter from the neighborhood, ballpark, playground, wherever. Empty in the alley dumpster and repeat. At the end of the day a few pieces of tape, repurposed dowels and fishing line can turn that bag into a high-flying kite. Worked at country school decades ago. That was until the breeze died, dropping the black square into the middle of Nagaki’s field.
A break from class, kite craft or even the promise of pizza – whatever works to move litter from the ground to the landfill. Who knows, the next skid plate left behind may fit your pickup.