Adopt-a-highway

One of the activities that the term three, Outdoor Adventure class participates in is the adopt-a-highway program.  Our coaches spoke with the Highway Department and arranged for our class to clean about one mile of Route 17, and they would supply our class with safety equipment and cleaning supplies.  Usually our class meets Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday, but we agreed to clean the highway on Wednesday in exchange for having no class on Friday.  Wednesday morning, we all met at the bus stop, to find two Elmira College vans ready to bring us to the highway, and we were waiting on a representative from the highway department to bring us hard hats, vests, gloves, and waivers.  There was a miscommunication with the highway department, and we ended up being delayed about an hour before departing, which was fine with us because we were able to eat breakfast while we were waiting.  We were brought to a portion on the side of the highway that was steep, and covered with litter and trash.  I have driven that portion of the highway dozens of times, and have never noticed the amount of garbage that was sprinkled on the side of the highway.  Dressed in orange vests and yellow hard hats, our class, in an hour and a half, cleaned about a dozen garbage bags FULL of garbage from one mile of the highway.  As we cleaned the highway, passing cars and trucks honked and beeped and shouted in approval, thanking us for devoting our time and energy to helping keep the environment clean.  It was a rewarding and eye opening experience, and I urge others to take part in adopt-a-highway program.