Students pitch in to clean up Wade Bowl

Apr. 22—SUPERIOR — As far as Earth Day cleanups go, this year's was hefty.

Students from Northwestern Middle School and Lake Superior Elementary School teamed up to sweep through Wade Bowl Park Monday morning. Their haul included a concrete block, couch cushions, a steak knife, a vaping device, a full bottle of shampoo, a boat hitch and a tire, much of it found hidden in the brush surrounding the green space.

"We lucked out. We were hoping for trash," said Megan Hogfeldt, a water resource specialist with the city of Superior Environmental Services Division. "We want the kids to see the significance of the trash in our community. Even though we take care of the city pretty well, there's still that amount of trash."

Fifth grade teacher Sue Correll, who has picked up trash with Lake Superior Elementary School students for years at sites ranging from Billings Park to Wisconsin Point, was impressed.

"I think this is the cleanup we've found the most garbage we've ever found in all the years I've ever done it. This tally sheet is packed," Correll said.

One student told her the amount of trash was "atrocious."

"They think it's terrible that people would just leave a lot of the crazy things they're leaving, like the clothing, the food wrappers, the plastic," Correll said.

Fifth grader Beckett Hansen said it was important to clean up trash "so the Earth doesn't get messy and the water gets unhealthy for all the animals."

It was more than a morning spent in the sun.

"One of the things that we want to leave the students with is these simple acts of a cleanup can be taken into a day-to-day practice or monthly practice, and even that a five-minute cleanup can help to protect our waterways. It's such a simple act, but it's a big positive impact on our community and environment," Hogfeldt said.

Eighth graders Ava Arseneau and Claire Ormston were among 17 members of

Northwestern Middle School's FACT group

, a Wisconsin teen movement to spread the truth about tobacco, who took part in the event.

"It's nice to see it all cleaned up, because littering is such a big thing now, especially cigarettes and stuff like that, people just throw out the window of their car or whatever," Arseneau said. "It's nice to help out."

"It's just nice that we get to come out here and do it and just help, because you never know if some kids just want to run in the field. They're running in all this trash. But we clean it up so they don't have to," Ormston said.

This is the third year in a row

the FACT group has been part of the Earth Day cleanup

. They also led a "Tobacco Shoe Swap" activity for the fifth graders Monday. Each student was given a character and walked in their shoes to see what factors in their lives could lead to tobacco use.

The city partnered with the FACT group and Northwest Wisconsin Lung Health Alliance to hold the Earth Day event.

"It seems like it's been such a synergistic relationship because tobacco products are both a human and environmental hazard, so it's been this really cool experience. Both groups acknowledge, hey, this is a problem for humans and a problem for water and our environment," Hogfeldt said.

Through the cleanup, she said, they hope to bring that message home to students.

Tim Anderson, specialist in advocacy and public policy with the Northwest Wisconsin Lung Health Alliance, said he also wanted to raise student awareness of the toxic nature of vaping devices.

"The toxicity of these products is really unknown to the general public. There are specific ways they should be disposed of and I don't think a lot of people know about them. I think a lot of people throw them in the trash," Anderson said.

The Douglas County Department of Health and Human Services and Northwest Wisconsin Communiy Services Agency also helped with the event.

Dozens of groups turned out in force to clean up public properties throughout Superior on Earth Day. Businesses, organizations and individuals

who have adopted parks, ballfields, landings and gardens

joined the students in their efforts.

"There's so many parks and there's so many people doing cleanups today, it's amazing," Hogfeldt said.