By JOHN E. WEARE
KAB
Keep Alliance Beautiful reminds the public what we’re about every time someone sees the green, blue and red arrows on our logo. The third arrow – litter prevention – depends almost entirely on the initiative of volunteers. Alliance High School’s freshman class stepped up this past week to tackle areas that have not seen a cleanup crew for some time.
Passersby undoubtedly noticed students in neon vests picking up litter with orange grabbers and black and green bags the morning of Nov. 10. On a beautiful, sunny autumn day about 85-90 freshmen split up into four groups as buses took them to Kansas Street, 25th Street, 10th Street and Laing Park. Around 11 o’clock the crews returned, pulling a few dozen bags from the buses’ cargo holds. Black bags full of trash weighed in at 200 pounds while green bags for recycling tipped the scales at 47 pounds.
The activity came on a day when sophomores and juniors were testing and seniors checked off another requirement for the Class of 2027. Principal Chris Stein reached out to KAB Education Coordinator Emma Steffy after she had presented her calendar of activities during an APS principal and administrator staff meeting. He said they intended to spend the morning on a service activity and asked for advice on locations for a litter cleanup. We recommended the major streets that they targeted while the school added Laing Park.
“It was such a rewarding experience to coordinate the freshman community cleanup alongside Mr. Stein and John Weare, and see the positive impact these students made throughout the community,” Emma said. “Their enthusiasm, hard work, and willingness to give back were inspiring! I want to say a big thank you to all the teachers and staff who helped make this project possible as well and contributed to the cleanup! I’m so grateful for the opportunity to be part of an event that brought students together for such a meaningful cause, and I hope to continue projects like these in the future.”
Any time you can give back to your community is meaningful, however there is a whole different feeling when you accomplish more with a group than would have been possible alone. From Emma’s accounts after taking photos at each location and what students and staff said upon returning the groups covered more ground than I had expected. Class service projects offer an opportunity to get to know people better and interact outside the classroom. Participants also see first-hand conditions that they may have never noticed driving by that same stretch. Now, after months, maybe years, that street is free from litter.
Keep Alliance Beautiful promotes litter prevention no matter how it happens, from the man picking up trash while walking his dog to a high school class scouring the shoulders of a street on the outskirts of town. We promote cleanups by providing grabbers, gloves, bags and safety vests to anyone who asks. There is always somewhere we can recommend if people need ideas. Overall, 2026 has been a slow year for people contacting our office about cleanups – not to say these events have not been happening, but we do like to assist and keep track of volunteer efforts.
The freshman class is an inspiration as there may be few choice days for organized litter cleanups left in 2026. Looking ahead to 2027, anyone can imitate the success they had in creating a cleaner community. First, choose an area or areas that fit your group. Adopting a local highway may be the answer for middle school to high school students and adults that can depend on at least 10-12 people to show up twice a year. Younger children would benefit from a smaller space away from traffic where there is enough litter to keep them busy.Watch the weather and have a backup date ready. Keep the event fun with snacks and beverages before or after the cleanup. Water, sunscreen and equipment for the cleanup itself make everything run smoothly.
Organizations often host a spring cleanup for their facilities such as Bulldog Stadium and the Spartans’ ballpark. I like happening upon events that transform an area though may not come together again. A few years back an AHS teacher and her classes tackled the Snake Creek tributary focusing on the drainage
from where it goes under 16th Street to near the practice fields and Bulldog Stadium. I was amazed at what they pulled from the thin strip of wetlands. This is an area few people want to mess with yet always collects litter. Still, the students had fun working in the sunshine instead of another day sitting inside at their desks.
Resolve to collect litter one piece at a time by yourself or with a group. Whenever you see it or at a planned cleanup. We can all help improve the view.