March 13, 2021
The Jasper Master Gardeners and Longleaf Ridge Master Naturalists jointly care for a 2-mile stretch along Hwy 2799/W. Houston St. The last trash pickup was Feb. 8, 2020. So what you see here is a little over a year’s worth of accumulated trash. Thanks to all the volunteers who helped out! We appreciate the show of pride in our community!
The weather happened to give us a perfect day. Cloudy, breezy, 75 degrees F, and 60% humidity. Donuts and pigs-n-blankets were provided at check-in. Bags, gloves, orange vests, and grabbers were also made available by the Master Gardeners and Keep Jasper Beautiful. Thanks to Lori Horne for getting that all set up for us at 7:30am! We finished by 11:00am and took our group pictures by the Adopt-A-Highway sign at the corner of Marvin Hancock Dr. & W. Houston St., next to the middle school. We gathered styrofoam fast food cups, cardboard boxes, plastic bags, plastic bottles, plastic wrappers, glass bottles, aluminum cans (which we saved for MDJSP), a tire, and even the bottom door for an oven! There was a rumor that someone found a $20 bill on the side of the road!!! There were even some pretty wildflowers just starting to bloom along the roadside. But watch out for those thistles!
This Adopt-A-Highway section was Part 1 of 3 in our Great American Cleanup sponsored by our local Keep American Beautiful affiliate. If you’d like to join us, our next trash pickup will be April 10, 2021 at 8am! We’ll meet at the Outdoor Learning Center in the Arboretum on Water St. in downtown Jasper. This time we will be more spread out along a few different roadsides within the community. Come out and help us keep Jasper beautiful!