Geography Club Cleans Up Highway

From left: Kadie Clark, Madeline Clarke, William Bloss, Joe Frimel, Colton Kimminau, Doug Hurt, and Jackson Hurt. 

Students feel like good keepers of our lands

The members of Geography Club-Gamma Theta Upsilon volunteered for community cleanup efforts on Sunday, Nov. 17, by picking up trash on a stretch of highway maintained by the department along Route H south of Columbia, which goes from Highway 63 to Columbia Regional Airport.

“Over the cleanups, we have found an assortment of items along the highway,” says participant Colton Kimminau, who has been involved in the cleanup for three semesters ever since the department and club restarted this event. “Some common examples (of items found) are food containers, plastic wrap, alcohol bottles, cigarette packs, different clothing articles, like gloves and socks …. However, we have come across some random items, such as a laptop, notes or acknowledgement papers with tons of personal information on them. You never know what you will find.”

The geography senior said the stretch of highway is approximately a mile long, and there are no communities nearby just a few houses along the road.

“I feel it is a great chance at completing some community service and I try to be as environmentally friendly as I can be,” Kimminau says. “The group that participates also gets to bond and spend some pretty fun time together.”

Kimminau adds that he would recommend others participate in future cleanups for three reasons:

  1. It is a perfect opportunity for community action in the geography department’s region.
  2. Geography is about interaction between peoples and the land. He says there has been too much negative impact by people on our planet and this is a chance to reverse those negative impacts into positive contributions.
  3. It allows one to socialize and connect with peers on a more personal level than a classroom setting allows.

“We usually do the trash cleanup on Sundays in the afternoons,” he adds. “For me, Sundays are typically lazy days watching football. Going out and doing something beneficial is more fun than people expect.”