Honors Seminar Series
| December 9, 2009 | ||
| 3:30 PM | to | 5:30 PM |
Toms River Clean-Up
I gave the Earth a hug earlier this month; and I feel like it was long overdue. On August 8th, myself, and fellow PTK members Charis, Kevin, and Danielle participated in a clean-up sponsored by the New Jersey Community Water Watch; and I can honestly say that I have never been happier taking out the trash. It was amazing to see the power of community service in action. When the group gathered at the “Brown Site” in Toms River I was so surprised to see such a range in age and status among the participants. Not only did OCC students participate, members of the Toms River community also braved the mosquitoes and the heat in order to do their part in protecting Barnegat Bay and other local waterways.
I had never participated in a clean-up prior to the Brown Site, so naturally I did not know what to expect when it came time to put on gloves and pick up trash. My tensions were soon eased once our group ventured into the woods and began to collect trash, ranging from bottles to clothing to an abandoned telephone pole, at an extremely rapid rate. I can speak for our PTK clean-up group when I say that as the day carried on, we began to somewhat enjoy the heaviness of our bags because they represented all that we achieved throughout the day. The amount of garbage that we (four people) collected still shocks me, and the amount of trash that the group as a whole collected amazes me even more. The sight of all the filled trash bags at the end of the day made me think; how different would the planet be if everyone throughout the globe participated in clean-ups on a regular basis? Wouldn’t the Earth be a much nicer place to live of everyone spread the spirit of service?
I think that giving community service plays an essential part in connecting the community as a whole. Where else would such a variety of people in different stages of their lives come together in order to achieve a common goal? What else would inspire college students to dig through foliage and climb through thorn –plagued bushes in order to retrieve bottles carelessly thrown into the woods? Community service promotes learning among all ages and is something that should be embraced with open arms.
I would like to thank Water Watch for inviting PTK to the clean-up and all of the members and community officials who participated and showed their support.
