timothy046
Registered: February 2007
Posts: 1
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As winter was nearing I knew time was running out before the snow would arrive and cover everything up. Luckily enough for my friend RJ and I, the weather seemed to be looking great for a cleanup day at Massabesic Lake in Auburn, New Hampshire. Once the good weather was verified that weekend we prepared ourselves for an adventure.
Massabesic Lake is a very beautiful wilderness area that has countless trails structured throughout the region. My good friend RJ jumped on the situation to spend a beautiful day hiking and picking up trash along the lake. He had a lot of experience in the region and didn’t hesitate to show me the golden spots for scenery!
With the weather working with us we headed out to the Lake. During the ride there we both noticed a lot of trash on the main roads close to the Lake. For some reason neither of us had really noticed how much trash is along the roads headed towards Massabesic. The quantity and size of a lot of the pieces made me pull the car over and pick them up. This was a project itself, for miles upon miles were trash ridden. Unfortunately, it seemed like a never-ending battle, trash would be scattered every two steps. The piece of trash that stood out the most was a humongous cardboard box on the side of the road. The box was so big it fit into two lawn-sized trash bags ripped into pieces.
As we got closer to the Lake, the trash reduced immensely. It was a great relief to see that possibly there were others like us helping out. We first decided to go to a picnic area with numerous tables spread over an area. This spot in particular probably sees the most people out of the year. This area was surprisingly clean except for a few pieces of trash scattered throughout the area. Other than that the area was beautiful and clean.
We then took several trails along the perimeter of the lake, picking up any trash we could find. The trails themselves were scarce of trash. The biggest problems seemed to be the entrances to the trails, and the main roads. The majority of the trash was seen and picked up in these locations. Bottles of every sort seemed to be the most popular trash of choice. Once people were done their drink, instead of taking it with them and disposing it later, they felt the need to toss it at that moment. A few insects happened to catch my eye. One dragonfly in particular kept on landing on my arm while I was resting on a large rock. He would continuously fly away then come back and land on my arm. I wish I could’ve brought him home to keep as a pet! There were also trees by the water that caught my eye. They grew horizontally towards the water, an awkward yet amazing gravitational feet. I’d like to do some research as why this happens at some point.
While doing this project I realized that I could do this much more often. Often times my friends and I will head up to Lake Massabesic to go biking or hiking. Until now, I’ve never gone around with a trash bag at that location and picked up trash. It felt relieving almost, to know that I was helping out with something big. I think that everyone at one point or another should set some time aside to help give back to the world a little bit. There’s no reason why a couple trash bags can’t be brought along for the journey to help a good cause. It wasn’t a horrible burden to be lugging around trash bags while picking up the trash. One of the best moments of the trip was when a park ranger rode by giving us two thumbs up and thanking us for the work. It really felt warming knowing that I was helping out.
Litter will always be a problem in the world. People can’t take the time to dispose of their trash responsibly. Instead they’ll toss it out the window of their car or at the location they’re at. The real problem stems from main roads. Miles and miles are covered with trash and the amount just keeps growing. The both of us could have spent the entire weekend picking up this one road; it was really an awful site. The area of Lake Massabesic itself was not that bad at all. Mostly the problems came from the road around the perimeter of the lake and the beginning of the trails. We spent a good while going to every entrance and cleaning up a bit. An easy way to eliminate the trash at the entrances would be to simply put a trash barrel out at each one. I’ll try and contact some authorities about this issue so hopefully it can be resolved for the coming seasons.
It’s important to keep this area clean because of the links between man and nature. The residents of the area use that water for drinking so it’s important to make sure the area is clean. We also need to respect the wilderness that inhabits the area, we the people created the trash so it’s our duty to pick it up. The trash is hazardous to many animals and plants as well, and it’s not fair to them to have to live with it. The area is also a busy recreation area that is used for all sorts of activities such as boating, hiking, biking, and fishing. The litter subtracts from the scenic aspect all too much and it’s important to preserve this.
After completing the project I felt a great sense of gratitude for doing something great for nature and the community. The weather was gorgeous making the trip even better. This was probably the last weekend that we’ll be able to go hiking without any snow for a few months! Doing good for the world and having a great time doing it was an honor to complete. We’ll be looking forward to the upcoming seasons to do this again!
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