Faculty, staff clean up trash near Triton College outside Chicago for Earth Day
This Earth Day, there is an easy way to care for the planet that can start with picking up trash in your own neighborhood.
That is exactly what a small group of students and faculty did at Triton College on west suburban River Grove, Illinois, Tuesday afternoon.
One of the participants was Jeff Pasieka, a clinical coordinator of the diagnostic medical sonography program at Triton College.
"I used to think, 'Well, am I the only person that cares about this kind of thing?'" Pasieka said. "And apparently not."
Pasieka takes care of both budding trees and sprouting trash near Triton College.
"Unfortunately, perfection is not usually possible, but we'll get the biggest and most prominent things that we can," he said.
Pasieka joined a small group along 5th Avenue in River Grove, brought together on Earth Day Tuesday. To credit was Ben Kadlec, the sustainability coordinator at Triton College.
"I think most of this trash is coming from people driving along the roadway and just throwing it out their window," Kadlec said.
Trash so easily tossed is harder to pick up.
"Absolutely," Pasieka said as he duck-walked through the woods with a trash picker. "I've had to army crawl underneath some hedges sometimes and get creative with it."
Pasieka will soon get back to helping students pursue health care careers. But on Tuesday, he was focused on the health of Fullerton Woods.
"No, we're not going to solve the climate crisis by getting out here for one hour on a Tuesday," he said. "You know, small things matter. Lots of small things can add up to something much bigger."
This group was just one cleaning up alongside one road for one hour, but a difference was already noticeable once they were done.
"I feel like every time we come out it looks better and better," said Kadlec.
A little work here and there adds up to a lot. The Triton College
