Student organization assists in cleanup

The Parks and Recreation Organization for Students hosted a community service cleanup day at Beech Fork State Park on Saturday.

The Parks and Recreation Organization for Students, or PROS, took 35 volunteers to Beech Fork to collect debris and recyclables.

Rick Abel, assistant professor for recreation and park resources, is in charge of the organization and projects like the cleanup.

"We had 10 students from PROS and 25 from the Wayne High School ROTC," Abel said.
Abel was pleased with the turnout from both groups that participated.

"To come out on a rainy day is a big deal," Abel said. "But in our field, we work when other people play, and we work so that other people can play."

Abel said parks and recreation majors have community service requirements, and this event was one option of the semester for the students to volunteer.

Abel said the group collected about 4,800 pounds of debris during its three-hour stay in the park.

Some of the debris collected by the group was recyclable, while the rest went to the trash.

"We brought back all metal to be recycled," Abel said. "Over 300 pounds of steel and at least 25 pounds of pop cans.

"All the money generated from the recycling goes into the organization's budget to do more activities like this."

Abel said the group found many interesting items in the cleanup.

"There was a crazy amount of beer bottles, tires, basketballs, engines and exhaust pipes," Abel said.

Kim Beach-Shaffer, parks and recreation major from Milton, W.Va., said the Beech Fork cleanup was like a treasure hunt.

"We found what we think was an old house site," she said. "There were old shoes and parts of engines."

Beach-Shaffer and Abel said an event like this is important to bring students together.

 "Doing something for the community like this builds camaraderie and friendship," Beach-Shaffer said.

 "The students work together during these things are not always friends," Abel said. "But spending three hours together on a muddy and rainy day brings them together by the end of it."

Abel said the Wayne High School group was especially enthusiastic at Beech Fork.

"The high school kids are neat to watch," he said. "Their energy level is about five clicks up from the college kids."

He said while they were disciplined, they still had a lot of energy.

"It is uplifting to see that many young people wanting to do something meaningful for the community," Abel said.

Haley Thaxton can be contacted at thaxton21@marshall.edu.