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It takes a village to pick up our litter

Tuesday, September 25, 2007 11:22 PM CDT

One of the things visitors notice in a visit to Southern Illinois is the natural beauty of the region.

There are litterbugs everywhere in the world, but we see less of this noxious species in our region than do the residents of large metropolitan areas. And we've also got people who are willing to do more than their share to keep the region as clean as possible.

It takes a lot of people to fight litter. We're saluting two great projects today and will issue periodic kudos in the coming year.

Annual tradition

This Saturday marks the return of a yearly tradition - the annual cleanup at the Crab Orchard National Wildlife Refuge. It begins at 8 a.m. and continues until 1 p.m. and is expected to yield enough refuse to fill several large industrial-size waste containers.

Reporter Codell Rodriguez recently took a closer look at the cleanup effort for a front page story Sept. 18. It takes a lot of human effort to keep the 22,000-acre nature preserve as clean and pristine as possible.

Park Ranger Jennifer Randolph explained different debris is found in different areas of the preserve. Discarded picnic supplies, cigarette butts and packs and fishing line are found in the lake areas. The areas along Illinois 13 and 148 tend to be pelted with trash likely thrown from vehicles - fast food wrappings and old automobile parts.

We can't understand how anyone could be thoughtless enough to throw garbage into a refuge area. But we're sure proud of the folks who try to undo the senseless damage.

Vicki Lang of Carbondale, who runs the therapeutic recreation program at Southern Illinois University Carbondale's Touch of Nature Environmental Center, is expected as one of the 200-plus volunteers needed for the effort. Lang described the cleanup as less of a chore than a duty to the region.

"It's not a dirty job whatsoever," Lang said. "It's about being able to beautify."

Other volunteers come from scout troops, or from fraternities and sororities taking part in required community service.

New campaign

We would be remiss if we didn't also recognize the first Beautify Southern Illinois Awards program, now underway and spearheaded by Paul Restivo, the director of SIUC's Center for Environmental Health and Safety and the Beautify Southern Illinois Campaign.

The campaign, started by SIU President Glenn Poshard, is just a tad older than 18 months but in that short span Restivo has seen some tremendous effort and progress toward beautifying the region.

Volunteers who take the time to clean up others' trash, who toil in soil so that we may enjoy the blossoms of flowers and greenery, who help keep our planet as naturally pristine as possible, deserve healthy pats on the back.

Here's a way you can help. Nominate someone by Oct. 5; the form is on Page 6 of today's newspaper and on the campaign's Web site at www.beautifysouthernillinois.com. You may also e-mail Restivo at restivo@cehs.siu.edu.