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NWP Global Registry of Apprentice Ecologists - A.W. Marion State Park, Circleville, Ohio, USA

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A.W. Marion State Park, Circleville, Ohio, USA
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ahaught1



Registered: December 2017
City/Town/Province: Columbus
Posts: 1
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Trash Wars 2017: Hargus Lake Edition


On Monday, August 15th, my mother and I traveled to Hargus Lake, near Circleville, with our trusted kayaks and our mission: to collect all the trash that we could. In 2015, my mother, Mona Cook-Haught, and I kayaked all lakes in Ohio that were 100 acres or more. From our experiences out on the water, Hargus Lake was the trashiest of the 103 lakes by far. We wanted to come back to Hargus and help the way we knew best with our kayaks, trash bags, and grabbers. Unfortunately, life got in the way and finally two years later we were back to paddle. At first the lake looked beautiful, no trash to be seen. That was until we started down the first leg that paralleled the walking trail. All the trash that my mother and I had seen on our first adventure at Hargus hid in the algae and water plants that covered the shore. Plastic bait containers, beer cars, and even a single pink flip flop were tangled into the wildlife. Despite the entire state of Ohio receiving more rain than average in July, Hargus Lake's water level was low. Because of this, most of the garbage we saw littered among the old shoreline just out of our reach. We carried on with hope-filled hearts, knowing that even though we could not rid the lake of trash completely, we could still make a difference. During our track through one of the cleaner fingers, a kind paddle-boarder thanked us for our work. It made me realize no one else would do this. It took my mother and I two years to come back to clean it. When was the last time the lake was cleaned? It was in this moment that I decided that I wanted to continue cleaning lakes. Who else would do it? Five hours later, we completed the entire perimeter of Hargus and paddled back to the boat ramp with a sense of accomplishment. After loading all our gear into the trunk and tying the kayaks down, we finally weighed our loot to find out the winner of our trash competition. Some of the trash that we picked up surprised us. Between the two of us, we had four different shoes, an honest tea bottle, and a fishing pole. Together, we collected 13.8 lbs. of trash. The winner of Trash Wars 2017 was my mother with 7.4 lbs. to my 6.4 lbs. Although we failed to pick up all of the trash, I am proud of our accomplishments and our drive to improve the lives of everyone that goes to Hargus but also the wildlife that call the lake home. I'm ready for Trash Wars 2018 and blowing my mother out of the water.
· Date: December 31, 2017 · Views: 3046 · File size: 21.0kb, 307.8kb · : 750 x 560 ·
Hours Volunteered: 6
Volunteers: 2
Authors Age & Age Range of Volunteers: 17 & 52
Area Restored for Native Wildlife (hectares): 1294.99
Trash Removed/Recycled from Environment (kg): 6.26
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