Nicodemus Wilderness Project -- Global Registry of Apprentice Ecologists

My family is very outdoor friendly and we love to do things outside. We love to go camping and fishing and ever since I can remember, we have taken an annual white water rafting trip. Some years that trip takes us down the main fork of the Salmon River. The beauty of the river and her mountains never fails to amaze me. This canyon, virtually untouched by the tarnishes of man, permits us to enjoy her landscapes, her streams, her wildlife, and her many other treasures. Although there are many regulations regarding trash and waste, some people donâ€™t clean up their campsites when they leave. For the past few years my family and I have taken it upon ourselves to go the extra mile in all of our campsites and clean up the micro-trash. Although we have always cleaned our campsites we decided to always take bags with us when we went hiking or fishing so that id there was any trash there, we could pick it up. That simple act is what inspired me to do this project. Although the project only consisted of a few of us, we made an impact in the damages. One year, on our annual trip down the Salmon, instead of only cleaning our sites and where we hiked, we expanded our cleaning to places that were out of our way. If there were campsites within a few minutesâ€™ walk of our current campsite, we would take a short hike and deep clean the site as well as the trails connecting the campsites. At some sites there was hardly any trash, just micro-trash that is easy to miss if youâ€™re not looking carefully. Other campsites were terrible; they had beer bottles, tin foil, and cans left in the fire pits (which is against regulations) as well as micro-trash including cigarette butts and candy wrappers. Once I found a whole package of Oreo cookies buried in the sand (I was digging my feet in the warm sand when I felt it.) It is vital to keep these areas clean not only for the sake of campers who come after you, but also for the sake of the wildlife and to preserve the beauty of the river and canyon. These rivers are not ours; we are merely visitors in their territory. You wouldnâ€™t leave your empty bottles and cigarette butts on your friendâ€™s living floor when you left their house would you? While the completion of my project may have gone unnoticed by some and only noticed by a few others, I feel that is a step towards a more knowledgeable and appreciative community of rafters. The group we go with always scours our campsites for every tiny little bit of trash and I feel that whoever comes after us notices how nice and clean the campsite is. Hopefully this inspires them to do the same and leave the campsite beautiful and trash free when they leave. This project has made me much more aware of litter all around. While in the wilderness, it is easy to spot the eyesore of garbage and litter, sometimes it is more difficult to notice on the street as you walk the dog. However, after my project I now keep an eye out for trash and try to always pick it up while I walk to class. Fortunately there are garbage cans all around campus so I donâ€™t have to carry around garbage in my pockets all day. It is important to keep trash off the ground no matter where we are.