Trash feels inescapable. It dots the side of the road as you drive your car; it plugs the gutter on your sidewalk stroll and even blows across the trail as you hike through the forest. Apart from being an eyesore, trash has a very real impact on the health of your watershed.
However, Globe/Miami groups are taking a stand against trash and working hard to clean up their watershed and community. Organized by Regina Ortega-Leonardi, over 30 volunteers came together on November 21st to remove approximately 180 cubic feet of trash from local recreation areas. Enough to overflow a 6-yard rolling dumpster! Recyclables were removed and brought to an appropriate facility.
Volunteers from the Cobre Valley Watershed Partnership, Globe High School, City of Globe, Tonto National Forest (TNF) and Capstone started their morning at the TNF Globe Ranger Station. A drive-thru style registration meant that volunteers could practice social distancing while getting assignments and supplies for the cleanup.
Groups spread out to target areas near Six Shooter Canyon (Check Dam Pit), Kellner Canyon (Crossroads), and Pipeline. For many, it was a family affair and a great way to experience the outdoors while making a difference in their community.
One by one, groups returned to the Globe Ranger Station and piled their trash into the dumpster. As the trash piled higher, volunteers had a great visual for how their individual actions, when added together, make a meaningful impact on their watershed.
Would you like to be part of meaningful change and working towards a more beautiful watershed? Visit the Gila PROUD Facebook page (www.facebook.com/GilaPROUD) or call the Cathy Sanchez-Cañez Memorial Foundation Cleanup Hotline at (808) 373-0032. Cleanups will resume in January 2021.
The cleanup was co-sponsored by the U.S. Forest Service, Cobre Valley Watershed Partnership, the Cathy Sanchez-Cañez Memorial Foundation and Capstone. A special thank you to Tim Ralston of Capstone and their volunteers for providing the roll-off dumpster and helping everyone literally take out the trash. Additional thanks to Sheryl Cormack and the Tonto National Forest, Globe Ranger District for distributing supplies and helping run a COVID conscious event.