Adopt-A-Trail

Kids help to clean disabled-access trail

Early last month, a group of young kids from St. Louis County patrolled a nature walk for the disabled at the Forest 44 Conservation Area. They were looking to clear trash and keep the trail clean.

The Roots and Shoots Hands-on Action Team was doing its quarterly clean-up of the nature walk. They were working as a part of the Missouri Department of Conservation's Adopt-A-Trail program.

Under their agreement, the Roots and Shoots kids agree to conduct a clean-up of the trail at least four times a year. Their May patrol was their fourth in the last 12 months, thus fulfilling their duties.

Nine-year-old Zoe Achilleus of Charlack said she was glad her team was working on the trail. "There aren't many easily accessible trails for the handicapped," she said.

Zoe is a 4th grader in her home-school program. All of the Roots and Shoots kids are home-schooled.

Parents of the kids were looking for a project that would get the kids to work together and better their community. They wanted the kids to do some good works in the outdoors.

But, after signing up for the MDC program, the parents and kids decided to expand their efforts.

Their team name is tied to the international Roots and Shoots program, spearheaded by internationally-known primatologist Jane Goodall.

Ms. Goodall first gained fame for her studies of chimpanzees in eastern African rain forests in the 1960s. She developed a concern about the deteriorating environment for both humans and animals.

She then started the Roots and Shoots program aimed at getting people all over the world to improve the environmental conditions for both humans and animals.

This spring, her institute sponsored the Jane Goodall's Global Youth Summit in Orlando, FL. One hundred young environmentalists chosen personally by Ms. Goodall met to work on a long-range program to improve conditions on the planet.

(To learn more about Roots and Shoots, visit www.rootsandshoots.org. And, you can learn about the Youth Summit at www.globalyouthsummit.org.)

The local Roots and Shoots team has agreed to sign-up for another year in the MDC's Adopt-A-Trail program. They're on the lookout for other environmental programs.

(If any of the Young Saint Louis.com readers would like to know more about Adopt-A-Trail, visit www.missouriconservation.org/8802 or call the MDC office in Jefferson City at (573) 522-4155, Ext. 3636.)

On their search for trash along the handicapped trail, each kid wore gloves and carried a plastic trash bag. They were looking for both small and large trash.

They picked up the small trash themselves. For big stuff, they made a list and send it to the MDC. For larger trash, state crews follow up to clean the mess away.

Ms. Jill Stoll is the adult leader. She pointed out to the kids during their May clean-up that a large wooden door they found near a creek had been cleared away. The kids found the door during an earlier clean-up trip.

Eight-year-old Ryenne Wich of Sunset Hills said the most unusual trash she'd found were two burned-out fireworks displays. She said they were small enough so she collected them and tossed them in the trash barrels at the start of the trail.

Ryenne's twin brother, Noah, said he found a cigarette lighter and collected it.

Seven-year-old Lauren Jester of Winchester said she spotted a "big, old bucket" during one clean-up run. "My dad carried it out and disposed of it," she said.

Eight-year-old Sarai Starfeldt and her 6-year-old brother, Caleb, were two of the kids who were on all four of the clean-up trips during the last year. Caleb said he likes the clean-up because "I get to be with my friends."

There are a total of 11 kids in the local Roots and Shoots team. Their ages range from four to 11.

All of the kids like the idea of getting outside.

Sarai said, "I like the idea that we can take a long hike and we can help nature at the same time."

But, she admitted her most memorable outdoor learning experience didn't involve the Roots and Shoots team. She said that experience involved falling off a jungle gym and chipped her tooth.

"I learned not to do that anymore," she said.

But, one outdoor experience that had pleasant memories for Sarai involves setting up a "slip and slide" in her backyard. She said her family has a 100-foot tarp that they can put on a slope in her backyard.

Then, she and her friends can run water down the tarp and slide to the bottom.

Zoe said her most memorable outdoor experience involved a trip to her grand-parents' 300-acre farm near Perryville in southeast Missouri.

"I was amazed how many different types of plants can be packed into one farm," she said.

Ryenne said her most unforgettable outdoor experience happened right in her own yard. "My dad was cutting the grass and we found a baby bunny," she said. "We left it in the yard," she added.

Lauren said her best outdoor experiences involved playing tag in her backyard and going swimming.