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As you know we’ve been on a mission this year to give more, including our time so we jumped at the chance to work with Discount Tire in cleaning up the desert with Tread Lightly at the Table Mesa recreation area just North of Phoenix.
A place many Phoenicians are familiar with, Table Mesa is known for recreational target shooting, off-highway vehicle riding, mountain biking, hiking, and more. It’s unfortunately also prone to illegal dumping and littering.
It was a drizzly day last weekend, but we made it up bright at early at 8am. Even with the weather there were plenty of people ready to volunteer their time and muscles. They had coffee ready for those of us who need it and a map as well as safety info for the day.
We did NOT have to go far to start cleaning up. There are areas with tons of trash piled up but we found lots and lots of it just walking to the more concentrated areas.
I’m glad we had our trash pickers because picking cups, shells and paper out of cacti isn’t fun without them!
We worked for about 3 hours and yes, the boys whined a bit and dilly dallied, but they worked hard and we hauled back more than a couple large bags of trash all on our own. We were provided lunch and the boys wanted to walk around a bit.
They had seen a pile of tires by the big containers of trash and were excited to have found their own to add. Yes, there are all kinds of things left in the desert like this. There were even giant boat parts.
They ended the day with some fun giveaways but the best part really was just seeing how much better the area looked. This land is public, but it might not always be. It’s so important for us to not be selfish and clean up after ourselves. This area is enjoyed by all of us and I’d hate to see it closed for my kids because people are destroying it.
I love that Discount Tire is helping us keep these public lands open and they were well represented by their employees at the cleanup as well. I hope you’ll join us and Discount Tire’s efforts to help keep public lands open! Follow them to find an upcoming sponsored event in your area. This won’t be our last!