EDITOR'S NOTES
Let me explain.
Sometime in February, I took up a large part of the garage and began constructing a kayak. It is wood-framed and covered in canvas. It floats beautifully. A couple weeks ago I spent several days with the Venture Crew my son belongs to near Moab paddling up and down the Colorado River.
At the same time I was building my kayak, my son knocked one out in about half the time, thanks to the help from his Venture Crew leaders.
I now have two kayaks killing grass in my back yard.
This new found mode of transportation, however, also has taken me to several locations around Provo, including the lower Provo River – the section just above the state park.
If you’ve not been to that part of the river or the Provo River trail, you really owe it to yourself to spend some time there. It is a beautiful section of trail shaded by tall willows and cottonwood trees. There are beaver and Canada geese and ducks and a rope swing or two. Plus there are benches along most of the trail. It’s perfectly flat and perfect for bike riding, long boarding or just strolling.
And, if you have a couple of kayaks like I now do, it’s perfect for paddling. There is virtually no current and lots of overhanging trees complete with moss hanging into the water, giving it the feel of a southern states bayou.
Perfect, right? Wrong.
This section of the Provo River is heavily strewn with trash, garbage and junk everywhere. It’s mostly in the form of plastic water bottles, flip flops, food containers old tires and anything else that someone on shore decided to toss into the water. Out of sight out of mind, I guess.
My daughter – who borrowed her brother’s kayak -- and I spent a couple of hours on the river on Saturday and we simply could not believe how trashed it was. We took a couple of small bags of garbage out, but it barely made a dent.
My daughter is a woman of action. Consequently she began plotting ways to clean up the river. Her first thought was, “I’m going to call Mayor Curtis about this. He should know that his river is trashed.”
Of course it’s not his river, but it wouldn’t surprise me if Mayor Curtis gets a call anyway from a very upset young woman seeking action.
At the bottom of this page, you’ll see a letter from Dave Olpin a longtime member of the local Kiwanis Club. Like my daughter, Olpin is issuing a call to action. The local service organizations need more members, but there seems to be a lack of interest in community service, he surmises.
A few weeks ago, we reported in the Daily Herald that the local Lions Club was reforming after several years of inactivity. That’s great news.
My hope is that local residents just need to be reminded that there are community service options out there. Organizations such as the Lions, Rotary, Kiwanis and others play in invaluable role in our community, not only through their charitable giving, but as a social organization that brings neighbors, business leaders and others together.
Of course, the LDS church and its myriad service programs also provide a valuable function. Children learn early on that service is a part of church and family life. What ward or stake doesn’t use “service projects” as part of the regular activities?
Last week, we reported on the Utah Valley Ministerial Association’s effort to gather members of all faiths in the Provo/Orem area together to tackle the huge issue of homelessness. Again, this is a perfect example of local people taking action to provide service to their community.
Thinking back to the Provo River, I know there have been several cleanup efforts along various sections of the river, especially around the Vivian Park area that is heavily used. This is a great service that is hugely appreciated for anyone like me and my daughter who find ourselves near the river fairly often.
My guess is that now that I have a couple of new boats to navigate more of the waterways, we’ll be out there even more often, but we’ll be bringing trash bags along.
The Provo River and I need your help
I built a boat over the winter. But I’m not very happy about it, and neither is my daughter.Let me explain.
Sometime in February, I took up a large part of the garage and began constructing a kayak. It is wood-framed and covered in canvas. It floats beautifully. A couple weeks ago I spent several days with the Venture Crew my son belongs to near Moab paddling up and down the Colorado River.
At the same time I was building my kayak, my son knocked one out in about half the time, thanks to the help from his Venture Crew leaders.
I now have two kayaks killing grass in my back yard.
This new found mode of transportation, however, also has taken me to several locations around Provo, including the lower Provo River – the section just above the state park.
If you’ve not been to that part of the river or the Provo River trail, you really owe it to yourself to spend some time there. It is a beautiful section of trail shaded by tall willows and cottonwood trees. There are beaver and Canada geese and ducks and a rope swing or two. Plus there are benches along most of the trail. It’s perfectly flat and perfect for bike riding, long boarding or just strolling.
And, if you have a couple of kayaks like I now do, it’s perfect for paddling. There is virtually no current and lots of overhanging trees complete with moss hanging into the water, giving it the feel of a southern states bayou.
Perfect, right? Wrong.
This section of the Provo River is heavily strewn with trash, garbage and junk everywhere. It’s mostly in the form of plastic water bottles, flip flops, food containers old tires and anything else that someone on shore decided to toss into the water. Out of sight out of mind, I guess.
My daughter – who borrowed her brother’s kayak -- and I spent a couple of hours on the river on Saturday and we simply could not believe how trashed it was. We took a couple of small bags of garbage out, but it barely made a dent.
My daughter is a woman of action. Consequently she began plotting ways to clean up the river. Her first thought was, “I’m going to call Mayor Curtis about this. He should know that his river is trashed.”
Of course it’s not his river, but it wouldn’t surprise me if Mayor Curtis gets a call anyway from a very upset young woman seeking action.
At the bottom of this page, you’ll see a letter from Dave Olpin a longtime member of the local Kiwanis Club. Like my daughter, Olpin is issuing a call to action. The local service organizations need more members, but there seems to be a lack of interest in community service, he surmises.
A few weeks ago, we reported in the Daily Herald that the local Lions Club was reforming after several years of inactivity. That’s great news.
My hope is that local residents just need to be reminded that there are community service options out there. Organizations such as the Lions, Rotary, Kiwanis and others play in invaluable role in our community, not only through their charitable giving, but as a social organization that brings neighbors, business leaders and others together.
Of course, the LDS church and its myriad service programs also provide a valuable function. Children learn early on that service is a part of church and family life. What ward or stake doesn’t use “service projects” as part of the regular activities?
Last week, we reported on the Utah Valley Ministerial Association’s effort to gather members of all faiths in the Provo/Orem area together to tackle the huge issue of homelessness. Again, this is a perfect example of local people taking action to provide service to their community.
Thinking back to the Provo River, I know there have been several cleanup efforts along various sections of the river, especially around the Vivian Park area that is heavily used. This is a great service that is hugely appreciated for anyone like me and my daughter who find ourselves near the river fairly often.
My guess is that now that I have a couple of new boats to navigate more of the waterways, we’ll be out there even more often, but we’ll be bringing trash bags along.
Daily Herald executive editor David Kennard can be reached at 801-344-2530 or dkennard@heraldextra.com or on Twitter @davidbkennard.
No comments:
Post a Comment