Nicodemus Wilderness Project -- Global Registry of Apprentice Ecologists

High Falls State Park

High Falls is situated on about 1,000 acres in the northwestern corner of Monroe County. In the early 1800s, the site was a prosperous industrial town with several stores, a grist mill, cotton gin, blacksmith shop, shoe factory and hotel. High Falls became a ghost town in the 1880s when a major railroad by-passed it. We went along one of the nature trails (about one mile) that runs along the east side Towaliga River and provides a great view of the scenic waterfall.

We seen a great opportunity to come together as partners and also brought along children to also observe the importance of this task. When we first arrived to the park, the park attendant, Mr. Mike, appeared to be delighted that we took the initiative to help out. The park, fortunately, appeared to be well kept with the exception of several cigarette butts. During our follow up research, we found that cigarette butts are the most littered item on the planet. Cigarette butts are harmful because the filters contain toxic chemicals that make its way down to our water sources effecting our drinking water and marine animals and in addition, animals mistake them for food. During our outing, we saw a number of small frogs, a rather large lizard and many mallards; because it is a populated park, not that much wildlife was in view. We also found many species of mushrooms and an oak tree with an exceptionally large hole hollowing out the inside.

We felt in the beginning that our purpose was not going to be rewarding because there was not much noticeable trash in the park. However as we got onto the trail, there was a considerable amount of cigarette butts along the way. As we observed the amount of cigarette butts we picked up we knew that it was a large contribution, especially after seeing the mother mallard and her duckling.

Indian Springs State Park

Indian Springs is thought to be the oldest state park in the nation. It was acquired by the state in 1825. In 1927, it became an official "State Forest Park". The Creek Indians used the springs for centuries to heal the sick and pass on more energy and strength to the well. During the 1800s, Indian Springs was a bustling resort town. Today, visitors can still sample the spring water while enjoying the parks cottages, camping, swimming, fishing and boating.

We started out near the boating docks and made our way around to the beach while passing through the picnic areas. Since we were located near the lake there were several species of dragonflies, sand pipers and one large crane. We also came across several frogs no bigger than a fingernail. We were hoping to spot turtles however because there was a church gathering in the park a lot of the wild life were not in view.

The litter varied in the locations of the park. Around one picnic table we picked up at least three packs worth of cigarette butts. Other picnic areas had soda cans, chip bags, and plastic wrappers for other food items. The fishing areas had a lot of fishing line bobbers and fishing line. Around the beach area we found a lot of food wrappers again along with beer cans, grocery store bags and more cigarette butts.

Although we saw several trashcan areas, trash was still everywhere. I think that stricter laws should be placed on littering and the fines should increase, especially in state parks. As far as the cigarette butt problem, there should be ashtrays located around the park along with the trashcans.

Conclusion:

In the beginning it was not something we really looked forward doing, but after we began picking up several of the same type of litter, we started to get frustrated at the fact that people were really littering so much. Then our feelings changed to wanting to pick up the trash to not only make the park look better, but also for the wild life that fed off the park.