Ditch Clean Up Pays

James Barneveld and Mark Mitro from Shabaqua

Earlier this month, on October 2^nd, we held our annual Ditch Clean Up event, which we have done since 1994. The Planeteers Committee, a committee where students can get involved with environmental issues, are the ones who organize and run this event with the help of several Res Life members. Any Residence students outside of the committee are welcome and encouraged to participate in Ditch Clean Up.

Ditch Clean Up consists of a bus full of Residence students who pick up recyclables and garbage from our 5 kilometers of adopted highway length. This year, approximately 45 students collected a total of 12 bags of recyclables as well as 40 bags of garbage from the highway ditches. In addition to the busload of students who cleaned up the ditches of our adopted length of highway, approximately 30 students collected additional recyclables and garbage from around campus and the community.

Ditch Clean Up pays in many ways. It’s a great way to get involved in Residence and explore the highway, our campus and our community. It’s a great event to participate in if you love the environment. After picking up all those recyclables/garbage and putting them where they belong, you feel good about yourself. It’s a way for us to make our mark positively on the environment. Not only does Ditch Clean Up pay intrinsically, but it sometimes can also pay extrinsically. This year, one of the small groups of students found a five dollar bill in their designated section of the highway ditch. Though the intrinsic payment of Ditch Clean Up is great, finding a five dollar bill is pretty sweet too.