Every year since they were established in 2014, the McCombs Golden Eagles have pitched in to clean up their high-traffic neighborhood during the Earth Day Trash Bash sponsored by the City of Des Moines. This year was no exception. The weather, though, was exceptional.
The Golden Eagles are a student leadership group at McCombs. Membership criteria involve grades, behavior and community service projects like the Trash Bash.
Emma Clubine and Madison Henderson are 7th grade pals who were part of the group that fanned out along County Line Road to snag litter like water bottles, smashed aluminum cans and empty cigarette packs with their “pik-stix.” That’s the run of the mill debris, but you never know what might turn up.
“One year somebody found a dead deer,” Madison said.
“Yeah, and another time there was an old (also dead) car,” chimed Emma.
Friday’s conditions were almost perfect for anything outdoors, almost like Mother Earth dressed up for the occasion with blue skies, puffy white clouds, green sprouts and budding branches, and the squad of students was combing her hair.
Besides County Line Road, they rounded the whole big block where McCombs sits and spruced up along other major arteries like SW 9th, where they could have passed for groundskeepers at Blank Golf Course or indigenous wildlife at Blank Park Zoo, and Army Post Road.
The city provided all of the necessary equipment; reflector safety vests, latex gloves, bags, barrels and escort trucks in addition to the popular pik-stix. And motorists, alas, have been steadily providing the raw materials ever since Earth Day a year ago. Unfortunately, the Golden Eagles are too busy with the academic part of their credentials to keep up with the litterbugs most of the year. But Friday afternoon they were only too happy to take a classroom break for a quick round of catchup.
It was a beautiful day in the neighborhood, thanks in part to the Golden Eagles nested there.
