By Jamie Mitchell
There is nothing quite like fall in Alabama when the hot days begin to yield to cooler nights and football becomes everyone’s favorite topic of conversation! We certainly love fall here at Alabama PALS when the Clean Campus Program kicks into full swing and the Coastal Cleanup means thousands of residents and visitors will help pick up those last pieces of debris left over from summer fun. We hope as you enjoy the cooler weather to come, you will make some time in your calendar to join a local cleanup or consider signing up for the Adopt-A-Mile program. It is also our hope that as schools get back into their routines, they will join the Clean Campus Program and be more mindful of litter on their campus and in the community.
Over the summer, we had a chance to participate in some learning events to spread the anti-litter message to students in Montgomery and Autauga Counties. In Montgomery County, we were happy to partner with the Alabama River Foundation to speak at the 2nd Annual Riverfront Rendezvous. This event brought in 160 students from Montgomery Community Centers and Boys & Girls Clubs to give them an opportunity to learn more about keeping our rivers clean, river safety and river wildlife. Each child also had the opportunity to ride on the “Sip and Cycle” Pedal Cruise, which was the first time many of these children had ever been on a boat!
We were also honored to partner with Autauga County 4H to speak at a special “Under the Sea” summer camp held at Daniel Pratt Elementary School. This was another opportunity to speak about keeping our Alabama waters clean and how our trash affects Alabama wildlife. The students were given pencils made from recycled newspaper as well as Clean Campus coloring books to help reinforce our message.
As we look to close out 2024, please contact us if we can help with cleanups in your community or to sign up for any of our programs. We can be reached at (334) 263-7737 or at [email protected]. You may also find us online at www.alpals.org.