Pitch in, pick up and get out

Frontiersman editorial board

Spring is here, apparently to stay, and one can't drive down a road or through a neighborhood in the Valley without noticing the grit and grime left over from a winter of neglect. Bare trees and brown ground serve as backdrops for forgotten appliances, junk cars or parachute-like plastic bags.

People are careless in the Valley, hauling unsecured loads of garbage, tossing trash out the window, dumping garbage on others' property or simply allowing their trash to blow from their yard to the next. That's an issue we all must buckle down and tackle together. To help get motivated, the Mat-Su Borough has offered its assistance in ridding the Valley of its accrued trash, and it's up to us to get busy.

As Tanaina community member Vera Hershey said in a recent discussion about the importance of community cleanups, Valley residents live in a pristine wilderness area. We are lucky enough to share our area with a wide range of creatures, including many animals that mistake pieces of garbage for food or treasure -- a mistake that can prove deadly.

"I don't want any animals to suffer from garbage that is laying around," Hershey said. "I just want to do my part in helping to keep this area clean."

Whether your penchant is protecting our wilder neighbors, living in a tidy neighborhood, fishing on pristine streams or walking along trails free of broken glass or other dangerous discards, pitching in to help clean up lightens the load -- and brightens the view for everyone.

In this edition, readers will find a list of free dump days and cleanup events. If your community isn't on this list, take a moment, call the borough, round up a few friends and make a day of it. If your back is sore and you can't bend over, volunteer organize the event, drive the trash to the dump or provide sodas and sandwiches to reward those with stronger backs. There's a place for everyone in our community, and no one has an excuse for not pitching in.

Our community serves as the gateway or launching point for thousands of visitors each summer and, if we want to keep our role and keep visitors coming back each year, it's important we maintain our pristine beauty.

But most importantly, our community is home to a wide variety of people, all of whom are rewarded each day with beautiful vistas and boundless outdoor opportunities. Pitching in and ridding your neighborhood, prize fishing hole or favorite trail system of trash makes those views and activities even more fulfilling -- and it helps ensure the beauty you've come to cherish will remain for another day.