To sit on the shore of a beautiful lake that reflects the landscape and sky above, or paddle your watercraft smoothly across its cool rippling waters is a completely satisfying and peaceful experience. It puts you in the center of nature and "carries you into recesses of feeling otherwise impenetrable." (Wordsworth) But...what if the shoreline of that lake is littered with garbage and debris?
Dumped debris along the shoreline and trash that floats into the lake with every high water event or from littering needs to be removed periodically, and who better to give back to the community and to nature than geocachers who enjoy the many caches in community parks. Events like the recent St. Louis County CITO - with canoes!! (GCAQ5KY) hosted by SLAGA's own StormRider22 (Laura MacLeod), on May 22, 2024 at Simpson Park lake, are essential in helping clean up our waters.
About fourteen geocachers attended the CITO, on the gorgeous May evening, and collected numerous bags of trash full of plastic and glass bottles, cups, straws, cans, styrofoam pieces, balls, bags, buckets, fishing bobbers/line, and more. A tire, a chair, some wood planks, and other large debris were also collected. A few cachers helped clean up the shorelines on foot, while the majority took to the water in canoes, a kayak, and a paddleboard. Surprisingly, what has always looked from afar to be a clean shoreline, across the lake, soon was discovered to be heavily littered, when approached by watercraft. While the removal and collection made a significant difference, there are still larger items, like a tin drum and a turbine engine, as well as other unreachable debris, that still need removal.
The beauty of our lakes and waterways are masked by the carelessness of people who litter and dump their trash on streets, that wash into storm drains during rains, along streams, rivers and lake banks, or off their watercraft while enjoying the once pristine waterways. Not only does littering and polluting affect our cherished way of life, which depends on clean water, but it greatly damages ecosystems which provide wildlife habitats as well, thereby harming all living creatures. So actively keeping our waters clean and clear of garbage and pollutants can help maintain a healthier environment for the wildlife and for us too as we enjoy recreational water activities like fishing, paddling, surfing and swimming.
Almost all of the Simpson Park Lake CITO participants agreed that not only another water clean-up in vessels is a great idea, but that they would definitely attend again. Laura said that "St. Louis County Parks and SLAGA have a great relationship. Geocachers are our eyes and ears in our parks, and they help us out in so many ways. CITOs are also an amazing way to work together to get our parks cleaned up and have a fun time doing it. I've partnered with SLAGA on at least six CITOs so far and have several more on my radar, especially with some suggestions from our great geocachers? Thanks for all your help everyone!" Being involved in CITOs like this certainly reflects a commitment to help keep our waters clear of trash and debris for our environment and for us to truly enjoy the beauty of our park waters.
