For my Service Outreach Project, I attended the Sunday tailgate cleanup behind the O-House dining hall. We went down into the creek nearby and cleaned up trash from the area. I worked closely with Jack Caiaccio.
I was very surprised with the amount of trash that we found even after the UGA cleanup crews went through the area. We found enough trash to fill up 3 garbage bags. There was an absurd amount of cans and bottles that had just been left or thrown into the wooded area near the creek. Another pair of students retrieved a tire, and ironing board, and part of a broken ladder from the creek. I was baffled by this because I couldn’t believe that someone would just throw those items into a creek and think it was allowed.
The process of cleaning up is extremely important to both the ecosystem in the creek and the overall look of the campus. If everybody took the time to pick up after themselves, this would not be an issue and our campus would be even more beautiful. And the saying beauty isn’t easy is very true. Jack and I had to get down into the creek and dig around in the dirt to get out all of the trash.
This experience has reminded me that cleaning up after myself is extremely important to keep the environment around healthy. From now on I will always pick up after myself and others because I want token our campus as beautiful as possible.