Volunteers clean up national forest

On Feb. 4, more than 300 people from the greater Charleston area volunteered their time and energy to take part in the annual cleanup of the Francis Marion National Forest. These wonderful volunteers removed 14.95 tons of trash, recyclables and tires from the forest.

PalmettoPride and the USDA Forest Service have been coordinating joint cleanup efforts of the forest since 2003. Since then, more than 1,200 volunteers have removed more than 133 tons of trash and debris from the forest. These volunteers have changed the landscape of the forest.

In 2008, volunteers collected an average of 440 pounds per person as compared to 99 pounds per person in 2012. These annual events are working. The results are visible, and in the case of this annual cleanup event, it is what you don't see that makes a difference.

We cannot thank the staff of the USDA Forest Service, Charleston County, Berkeley County and the volunteers who come out every year to spend time in the great outdoors and do something good for themselves, for future generations and for our precious wildlife habitats.

We encourage everyone to get involved in their communities. Take the time to take care of your surroundings. If you see litter, pick it up. If you have trash in your hands, cars, boats or homes, please put it in its proper place. Don't litter. It doesn't take a lot of effort to make your environment a better place.

The Francis Marion National Forest annual cleanup event will be back next February. We hope you'll join us.

Linda Shadel

Director, PalmettoPride

Middleburg Drive

Columbia