The NC woods, located on the east side of the school’s campus, is a large, natural forest utilized by science classes. However, it has been a significant period since trash clean-up efforts have taken place. The North Central Environmental Action and Awareness club, in tandem with the Young Democrats club, picked up and disposed of trash in the woods on Wednesday.

Science teacher Brian Gropp, the sponsor for NCEAA, was happy with the turnout. 

“A lot of kids showed up and it was really crazy how much trash we managed to collect in such a short amount of time,” Gropp said.

The clean-up took place after school. Gropp outlined the specific efforts and impact of the group’s actions.

“It felt really great to do something good to help NC and the environment. Besides just cleaning up the woods we also helped clear debris from the creek so it can flow better,” Gropp said.

Considering that it had been several years since anyone made a concerted effort to clean the woods, trash build-up was spread throughout the woods.

“We haven’t had a legit cleanup like this in a long time, so there was obviously a lot of trash out there, but I feel like we made a pretty big dent in what’s out there,” Gropp said.

The group found some unconventional, out-of-place items during the clean-up.

“We found a broken chair, old clothing, entire shipping crates, and ironically garbage can lids. There was a whole lot of weird stuff out there,” Gropp said. 

The dedication of the NCEAA and Young Democrats members in helping clean up the NC woods was displayed in how willing they were to be hands-on.

“Several students got quite dirty and muddy and it was cool to see such dedication,” Gropp said. 

Gropp hopes the NC woods clean-up will become a regular event.

“It’s great to see such amazing work from NC students, and hopefully it’s not going to be so long until the next woods cleanup,” Gropp said.