Shawnee Trash Bash 2007

On Saturday, October 20, 2007, Beautify Southern Illinois teamed up with the Shawnee Group Sierra Club, the US Forest Service/Shawnee National Forest, and community volunteers for the second annual “Shawnee Trash Bash”. Dozens of volunteers were divided into teams with a Sierra Club member as team leaders and the teams fanned out throughout the eastern Shawnee National Forest to clean up litter from some of the most beautiful natural areas of southern Illinois. The areas where volunteers cleaned up litter included: Garden of the Gods, Rim Rock, Pounds Hollow, Stone Face, Bell Smith Springs & One Horse Gap.

At the end of the day, volunteers were treated to a BBQ dinner and party. The food was locally and organically produced, beef from Lick Creek Farm, bread from the Neighborhood Co-op and produce from various local organic growers. Music was provided by the Bone Dry River Band with guest Danny Dolinger.

A big thank you to the sponsors of this year’s event! Sponsors included:

Shawnee Group Sierra Club, Sierra Club Foundation, Beautify Southern Illinois Student Alliance, Shawnee National Forest/US Forest Service Farmers State Bank, Raben Tire Co., Outdoor Youth Education Foundation, The Neighborhood Co-op, Tim Francis, Robertson Vending, and Southern Recycling

Sierra Club team leader provides safety tips and instructions for his assigned team at the Shawnee National Forest Headquarters near Harrisburg. The team was preparing to travel to Bell Smith Springs to pick up litter.
Sierra Club members and volunteers are shown here at the event registration at the Shawnee National Forest Headquarters. Each volunteer received a reusable water bottle courtesy of Recreation Equipment, Inc. (better for the environment than bottled water!), gloves & a T-Shirt. Several college students were also awarded Sierra Club backpacks for volunteering.	Volunteers shown here receiving final assignments and instructions from Sierra Club team leader at Bell Smith Springs near McCormick, Illinois.
A couple Southern Illinois University Carbondale students from the Beautify Southern Illinois Student Alliance group pose for a photo along the trail during the litter cleanup of the trails.
	A few photos along the trail show the beauty of the Shawnee National Forest. Our rhetorical question is why in the world would anybody defile this beautiful place by throwing litter to the ground?
Volunteers meet up at the end of their litter cleanup at Bell Smith Springs