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NWP Global Registry of Apprentice Ecologists - Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, USA

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Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, USA
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ChrisH



Registered: April 2007
City/Town/Province: Oklahoma City
Posts: 4
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Lake Hefner


General Area


Lake Hefner is a reservoir in northwestern Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. It was built in 1947 to expand the water supply for the city of Oklahoma City. It also servers as a major recreational destination, as it is surrounded by close to 9.5 miles of bicycle trails. (The trails are a project of Oklahoma City Parks and Recreation Department, Oklahoma Department of Transportation, Oklahoma City Water Utilities Trust, and Oklahoma City Beautiful.) The trails connect with its many recreational areas. Recreational activities have been a part of Lake Hefner from its earliest days. Lake Hefner covers 2,500 acres and averages 29 feet deep. It is named after Robert A. Hefner, who served as mayor of Oklahoma City from April 11th, 1939 to April 8th, 1947. In 1941, Robert Hefner obtained financial aid from the federal Works Project Administration to provide $250,000.00 worth of beautification around the lake "to make it a recreation ground." The mayor and council agreed that several million fish be purchased for the lake. The wildlife in the area consists mostly of catfish and birds native of the Oklahoma City area.



Project


I started the project at 9:30 a.m. on Thursday April the 12th. I started in a parking lot in the southeastern part of the lake close to Stars & Strips Park. In this park you will find picnic area, grills, trash bins, restrooms, playground, group shelter, and drinking water. I took my trash bag out here and started to make my way west while picking up trash as I went. I occasionally found trash next to the pathway and close to the lake along the entire path. I found things such as plastic bags, paper and plastic cups, cardboard, and different types of rope. After this point I kept heading west to wrap around the southernmost part of the lake. Here there is fishing and boat docks with numerous boats parked for fishing. There is more trash cans here for a more sanitary environment for the fishermen. I then came close to the golf course in the south southwestern part of the lake. On the southwestern corner there is a softball field for practicing. The pathway ends here at the softball field. Total trash collected from the entire southern pathway was about 2 full bags. Total time spent on Thursday was six hours. I came back at 8:30 a.m. on Saturday April the 14th. This time I started at the northwestern section of the park where Pat Murphy Park is located. Here there is picnic area, trash bins, playground area, along with some nature trails. I found a sizable amount of trash as I was already heading west along the path. The path develops into a very large hill that overlooks Hefner Street (108th Street) and Lake Hefner. This is a fabulous place to relax and enjoy the view. On the northeastern part of the reservoir there is another softball field where I saw people practicing for baseball season. Across the street there is a soccer field. I collected one and a half bags of trash when I came to the end of the path. I spent four hours this day and a total of ten hours on the project. I collected roughly 70 pounds trash total or 3 and a half bags. There will always be trash in recreational areas so help can always be used. I took this picture the way I did to help depict that.
· Date: April 15, 2007 · Views: 11351 · File size: 35.5kb, 321.6kb · : 1500 x 1125 ·
Hours Volunteered: 10
Volunteers: 1
Authors Age & Age Range of Volunteers: 19
Area Restored for Native Wildlife (hectares): 2
Trash Removed/Recycled from Environment (kg): 35
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