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Show Page 18 The Ogden Valley news Volume XIV Issue XVI June 1, 2007 Ogden Valley Pathways Hike By Roxy Hedges and Jordan Jones, Sixth Grade Student Reporters May 15, 16, and 17, the sixth grade students at Valley Elementary School went on a hike to the North Arm Trail Head. can go a long way. Many people will just walk past all of the garbage and make a comment about how some people decide to change our beautiful planet into something ugly and grotesque. The truth is, saying a thing like this doesn’t really do anything positive; whereas, if you decide to just take a small garbage sack along with you, you can pick up a few pieces of trash on the way. You can even hold a contest and give whoever picks up the most trash a small prize. Even if you only pick up four or five pieces of trash, think about how much that is if 50 people did that same thing over a week’s time. That would mean that 250 pieces of trash had been cleared in just one week! Think of how much cleaner our trails would look after a year if people would just pick up a couple pieces of trash every time they went hiking. Maybe you could even go the extra mile and pick up ten pieces of gar- Ashlee Morse, Olivia Buttars, and Kelsi Tatton. Our Ogden Valley Pathways tour guides were Mr. Marion Horna, Mr. Ed Radford, and Mrs. Marsha Rasmussen. Ranger Ryan McFarland also accompanied us. We also had some wonderful mothers come to help. They really helped us along. Ogden Valley Pathways (OVP) has created some beautiful trails for us to hike. The Pathways organization has really enriched our community. They organized the hike to help teach us how to be better members of our community; members who help, care, and do! Kelsi Tatton kneeling to pick woad. bage. And maybe some super-hero-likeperson would pick up a whole garbage bag full of trash! We helped clean and you can too. All you have to do is pick up a little trash when you go hiking. Thanks Ogden Valley Pathways. You make a difference! Essay Winners Riley Earl and Hayden Schenck We learned about plant species, animals, birds, and trail etiquette. The sixth grade students gathered dyer’s woad along the trail and then put it in plastic sacks. Students also picked up any garbage they saw and disposed of it properly. With about 97 students helping clean up, the trail was looking like it should! This is an example of how a little effort In addition to holding a nature hike for the Valley Elementary sixth grade students, Ogden Valley Pathways sponsored an essay contest for the students. Students wrote essays addressing the topic “How I Can Preserve and Protect Ogden Valley Pathways and Trails. The students who wrote the top ten winning essays received $25each from Ogden Valley Pathways. Essay winners were Anna Scholte, Baylie Thompson, Ashlee Morse, Riley Earl, Beau Hart, Alexis Argyle, Alastair Scheuermann, Kelsi Tatton, Hannah Hedges, and Roxy Hedges. Ogden Valley Pathway Essay Winners Announced value it—not trash it. Please, don’t kill more animals by killing their environment. It’s like someone coming in and trashing your house. I will try to hold a clean up day to help keep the pathways clean, and I promise to the environment I will save it and bring back its beauty. I will devote my time to cleaning it. I promise, somehow I will save it. Ogden Valley Pathway Essay Contest winners were recently selected from sixth grade students from Valley Elementary. Essay winners included Ann Scholte, Baylie Thompson, Ashlee Morse, Riley Earl, Beau Hart, Alexis Argyle, Alastair Scheuermann, Kelsi Tatton, Get Off That Couch! Hannah Hedges, and Roxy Hedges. By Beau Hart Following is a selection of these winAre you out of shape? Are you always ning essays. bored and have nothing to do? Well, I have the best thing in the world for you! Go take Ogden Valley Pathways: a walk on the Ogden Valley Pathways! On the trails there is something that TV can Keep them clean never compete with . . . Nature! You can By Roxy Hedges take a walk, you can go for a run, and get Ogden Valley Pathways are a wonderful in shape for that marathon you’ve always addition to the Valley. Unfortunately, gar- dreamed to win! Another thing you can do bage clutters the trails and many stretches is get rid of litter on the pathways. I know have few trees. If the trails can be kept it sounds really boring to go and clean up clear of litter, and trees are planted and pathways. But it has great benefits like getencouraged, the network of trails for enjoy- ting involved in your community. ing Ogden Valley would be enhanced. Do you remember when Ogden Valley People can damage the trail with litter. had forests and the deer used to come in On my own walks along trails, I’m stunned your backyard in the summer? Well, now by the amount of garbage. One solution the Valley is becoming a big bustling city might be to place garbage cans every mile and has few of these organizations left. So and punish those caught littering. This we need to preserve these trails! How hard would make the trails nicer. is it to pick up a piece of trash or pull a Trees can also enhance the natural beau- weed when you’re running? If we can do ty of the Valley. While there are a few this, think about what it will look like in ten trees along the trails, much of the trails years! So get involved in your community; run through opne ground that gets sunny take a walk on the Ogden Valley Pathways! and hot on summer afternoons. Trees also stabilize the soil, preventing erosion and Ogden Valley Pathways encrouaging the growth of other plants. The Ogden Valley Pathways can be used By Alastair Scheuermann Pathways are supposed to be full of for many good things and can provide a way for residents and tourists to more fully nature, not litter. The sky should be blue and take advantage of the Valley. However, two beautiful, not covered in clouds of toxic. The rivers one thousand years ago were main things threaten the beauty and usefulness of the trails and must be considered as clear as crystal, but with all of the polluwhile the trails are being made—controlling tion nowadays, nature is gradually going to litter, and planting trees. This will ensure die unless the human race will do something to clean up the pollution that we have caused. that the trails function as they should. That’s why a group of people should go on Preserving the Ogden Valley walks every week to clean up the pathways to clean up nature. If we could spare thirty Pathway Trails minutes of our Saturday to clean up nature, By Anna Scholte it would be saving the environment, and we Caring and maintaining our environ- could all feel better about ourselves. Whilst we clean up we would be exerment is essential. If you haven’t any care for the environment, you haven’t any care cising by walking. After we clean the pathfor the beautiful wildlife. If the community ways, we could see nature at its fullest, and comes together and helps clean it up and see animals in their natural environment. maintain it, then more people will enjoy The rivers would be crystal clear just like a and know that someone cares about it. I go thousand years ago. The plants and flowers to some nature trails and all I see are dead could grow even more beautiful than they trees and garbage. It makes me sick, and I are now. People would see the environwish I could do something about it . . . but ment, and try to keep it that way. So, would thirty minutes of your time be I don’t want to go back. We should not take the wildlife and natu- too much to ask for a clean environment? ral beauty of earth for granted; we should Think about it . . . . |