Sadly, the enjoyment of the Story Walk last week was diminished by
litter. Tons of silver glitter was strewn along the path where the Story
Walk was on display. Glitter is actually small pieces of metal or
plastic that are very difficult to clean up and can persist in the
environment for a long time, polluting the landscape and waterways and
causing harm to wildlife that ingest it.
No matter what the glitter litterbug's intention, it highlights
something that is often overlooked-the path is a resource used by many.
It is a community resource that local landowners share with us, that
wildlife shares with us, and that we share with each other.
Our ability to use the path (and any part of our environment) is
directly tied to the well-being of that resource we share with so many
others. It then makes sense that each person is responsible to the
landowners, to the wildlife and to each other to respect and steward the
Path so that we all can continue to benefit from its existence.
The mission of the Mad River Path Association is to build and maintain
the Mad River Path to foster a healthy community connected to the people
and places of the Mad River Valley; however, we can't do it without
each of you. Be a steward of the path and the beautiful environment that
surrounds it, while peacefully encouraging others to do the same.
Pack out your trash or trash others left behind. Respect the Mad River,
the generosity of local landowners, and your fellow path users by
leashing your dog and picking up their poop. These are simple things
each person can do to keep a community resource alive and vibrant. See
you on the path!
Foushee is the executive director of the Mad River Path Association.
