RIVER CLEAN-UP by Julia K., Wilmington, DE Everyone always says they want to save the earth and help our environment. But how often do you actually get up and do something about it? Close to never, right? Well don't worry; that's how I usually am, too. But one day my friend told me about a river clean-up in my area. I thought, This is a chance to help out and become active in cleaning up my environment. So I got up a bit earlier to give a helping hand.

When we got there, one of the project leaders put us to work right away. I was surprised to find that we were not only given a bag, but also a piece of paper to record everything we put in the bag. I figured this was for statistical purposes. Surprisingly, the most abundant article of trash we picked up was a small, but important part of our day-to-day lives. It was a bottle cap. We must have found over 200 plastic bottle caps. Some other, more interesting items we found were a burlap bag and a strange piece of metal. We never did find out its use.

The morning was very productive and made me feel like I had done something positive. I know what you're thinking: How much fun could picking up trash on a Saturday morning be? I had a really good time. When it was over, I was proud of myself for being an active environmentalist. I strongly recommend giving up a few hours of your time to your community. It leaves you with a genuinely satisfied feeling.