SAEMS Trash & Bash
SAEMS Adopt-A-Highway
Join us at the next highway litter cleanup. Invite your family and friends. We will meet at 8:00 a.m. at the Sonoita exit of I-10. Park in the dirt lot just south of I-10. Our mile of highway is east of the Sonoita exit. Please be on time, as we will leave the parking area about 8:10 and drive to our cleanup area. If you show up late, nobody will be there. Volunteers must be at least 12 years old.
Wear long pants, long sleeves, closed-toed shoes, a hat and sunscreen. Safety vests, leather gloves, litter tongs and collection bags will be provided. Bottled water, soda and snacks will be provided.
A small prize will be given for the most interesting "treasure" found during the cleanup.
After we finish the cleanup about 10:30 a.m., SAEMS will host a breakfast at the Triple T.
RSVP to Barb Ricca at ricca@us.ibm.com for the cleanup.
SAEMS provides opportunities to help improve the quality of the environment directly by participating in various activities.
Highway Cleanup
On April 12, 2008 a small group of dedicated SAEMS members conducted the highway cleanup. In attendance were Mike Block, Heather Shoemaker, Ken Asch and Barb Ricca. In addition, Barb's two daughters and a friend attended. On this very windy day we covered the entire mile of highway and collected 21 bags of trash. Being so windy, several times the wind caught the trash bag and dumped the entire contents on the ground. We wondered if ADOT would allow us to count the bag twice if we had to pick it up two times. The best "treasure" of the day was an intact bleached javalina skull which is now in Barb's garage.
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Upcoming Highway Cleanups
Mark your calendars for Adopt-a-Highway cleanups on September 13th, and November 8th at 8 a.m. For more information contact Barb Ricca at ricca@us.ibm.com.
Past Highway Cleanups
Wildcat Dump Cleanup
March 15, 2008
On a warm sunny Saturday March 15, 2008, an enthusiastic group of volunteers spent 3 hours cleaning up several acres of desert near Rita Rd. and Interstate 10. The location was an Undocumented Migrant (UDM) site where migrants walking north transfer to vehicles to continue their journey. The area had hundreds of backpacks, blankets, coats, pants, shirts, shoes, water bottles etc. 1.7 tons of materials (approximately 200 large bags) were cleaned up, enough to fill a 30 yard dumpster.
In total there were 27 volunteers from SAEMS, Tucson Clean & Beautiful and the Boy Scouts. The 12 SAEMS participants were: Barb Ricca, Ken Asch, Pamela Beilke, Heather Shoemaker, Jeff Christensen, Mike Block, Fred Brinker, Rick Smith, Jim Santino, Eric Fritz, Kristie Kilgore and Craig Boudle.
Following the cleanup a group of 18 hungry volunteers ate at Chuy's on Houghton Rd. SAEMS paid for lunch.
The cleanup gave us a real sense of accomplishment. What a difference in the desert before and after the cleanup. A great time was had by all.
Event sponsors were: Southwest Hazard Control (bags, tape and the rolloff bin), PCDEQ (bobcat equipment) and SAEMS (snacks, drinks, Chuy's lunch, litter grabbers and gloves).
Special thanks to the event organizers: Kenrick Custer from PCDEQ, Jim Santino and Eric Fritz from Southwest Hazard Control and Barb Ricca from IBM.
Eric Fritz and Jim Santino (our fearless leaders) |
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Pamela Beilke (in a particularly trashed desert location) |
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Ken Asch |
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Mike Block and Jeff Christensen |
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Heather Shoemaker |
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Kenrick Custer in the bobcat and Fred Brinker giving directions |
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What a beautiful day we had for the highway trash cleanup on Sat. Feb. 9, 2008. The group of 12 volunteers cleaned up 30 bags of trash along the SAEMS adopted mile of Interstate 10.
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Rick won the Starbucks gift certificate for the most unusual item found. He found a gun in a bag. 911 was called and DPS came to get the gun. |
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SAEMS Park Cleanups
SAEMS volunteers also work to keep Southern Arizona parks clean. Periodically a park is identified that needs special attention and we are ready to help!
Upcoming Park Cleanups
For more information on future Park Cleanups contact BJ Cordova at BJ.Cordova@tucsonaz.gov.
Past Park Cleanups
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Freedom Park Buffelgrass removal and litter cleanup a huge success! On Saturday March 10, 2007, SAEMS and Tucson Clean & Beautiful co-sponsored a buffelgrass and litter removal project at Freedom Park, on 29th St. east of Swan Rd. A total of 32 volunteers had a major impact on improving the condition of the park by digging up buffelgrass from the east side of the park, clearing other dried brush and dumped items, as well as removing litter from areas throughout the park! While there is still much to be done in the future to get rid of buffelgrass on the south side of Freedom Park and the north side of the adjacent Golf Links Sports Complex, the effort was greatly appreciated by the Parks & Recreation staff. One young volunteer also found a desert horned lizard, an extra treat to see in an urban park. SAEMS members in attendance:
Additional volunteers through Tucson Clean & Beautiful included a class of 12 recruits from the Pima County Sheriff's Department, several folks from the Arizona Native Plant Society, student volunteers and a program coordinator from the Freedom Park Center, and several other independent volunteers. Thank you to all! |
