CAPE GROUP CLEANS FOR EARTH DAY

"Cape is a pretty town," said Phil Dodson as he waded through thigh-high water toward an abandoned drinking cup. "Things like this -- Styrofoam, fast food -- it's really a problem."

Dodson and other members and friends of the Mississippi Valley Chapter of the Ozark Society Stream Team 1083 spent Saturday cleaning debris from a portion of Cape La Croix Creek.

Their efforts were planned to coincide with Earth Day activities taking place worldwide. Saturday was the 30th anniversary of Earth Day, a day set aside to show appreciation for nature and encourage peace.

"To me it makes a difference," said Brenda Crites. "We're all working because we want to make it a little better."

Motorists driving along Mount Auburn or Hopper roads likely didn't even see the 10 or so people who worked to free the creek from the litter and illegally-dumped debris that cluttered its banks. Volunteers worked in the water, and along the upper banks and bicycle trail that lies alongside the creek.

The group adopted the creek about three years ago and has since held cleaning projects twice annually. During that time, they have pulled children's swimming pools, lamp shades, dirty diapers and all manner of trash from the waters.

"I've watched people just throw things over the bridge," Dodson said. "I think there's some kind of mentality about a ditch, as if it's a place to throw things."

During one cleaning project, the group pulled some 10 tires from the creek's banks. Dodson said littering has increased since the environmentally-conscious 1970s, when many people took the time to dispose of trash correctly. Natural areas like woods and creeks are especially vulnerable to litter, he said.

"It's been my personal observation that wherever we have nice wooded areas people tend to throw carelessly," Dodson said. "I think we've lost something along the way."

Wyn Hirsch worked with Dodson and Brenda Crites out of her canoe, "Eeyore". She sighed in frustration as she discovered beaver marks on a tree limb hidden by a long-tossed plastic bag.

"A lot of people don't want to bring their pretty canoes down into this mess, but Eeyore doesn't mind," she said. "We feel like we're giving back a little bit."

Hirsch said the creek is home to a number of animals and should be treated with respect. In fact, people should treat natural areas as if they live there.

"I don't throw trash in my yard and I don't want to throw it in anybody else's yard," she said.