Residents join efforts to keep neighborhood clean

Even in Mountain Brook, a city that values its parks and trails, there are people who don’t respect the environment.

That’s the lesson learned by Paul Brown, a nearly lifelong city resident, one day several years ago.

“I was walking my dog on the McElwain Furnace Trail and happened upon a Great Blue Heron perched atop a floating mass of litter in Shades Creek while hunting his next meal,” said Brown in a written account submitted to Village Living.

“This troubling image was a vivid reminder that litter is far more than simply a matter of aesthetics on our roadways,” said Brown, who has lived in Cherokee Bend since 1987. “It ultimately makes its way into our waterways, creating major environmental challenges for our wildlife neighbors.”

“As I watched the heron feed, I was reminded how Shades Creek looked in the 1960s and what a treasure the stream was to me and other kids in our community seeking adventures beyond our backyards,” he said.

In addition, Brown said he believes the litter problem in Mountain Brook is getting worse.

So he decided to try to make things better, and his “daily dog walks” in the city began to include regular litter pickup.

He also met some like-minded people during his walks, Mountain Brook residents and dog lovers Bry Coburn, Jennifer Chandler, Blair Agricola, Durham Ellis and Jean Owens.

All are Cherokee Bend residents except for Chandler, who grew up in the neighborhood and now lives in nearby Nottingham.

Imagine what a positive difference it would make if everyone would simply pick up one piece of litter a day rather than simply stepping over it.

PAUL BROWN

They began picking up litter, as well, and now dub themselves the “Cherokee Bend Litter Gitters.”

“We run into one another and swap tales of our collection efforts, and it’s taken on a fun social context,” Brown said.

This summer, Agricola suggested the group go beyond the Mountain Brook city limits and try to conquer what they dubbed the “Nightmare on Elder Street.”

Elder Street, adjacent to the Flora Johnston Nature Preserve, is a major source of the litter in Shades Creek, Brown said.

“We successfully removed the accumulation of 50-plus years of littering activity over the last six months,” he said.

Maintaining a litter free environment is important aesthetically, improves the property values and “instills a sense of pride and community,” Owens said.

“We love our neighborhood and want to keep it beautiful,” she said.

“Pride in one’s surroundings, respect for one’s neighbors and the environment and working together on a common goal provide healthy results on many levels,” said Chandler, who enjoys walking her dog Mercy along the McElwain Trail.

“You cannot believe the junk people throw out of their windows,” Owens said. “We have found tires, street lamps and old bottles. You’ve got to joke about it or else you’d be mad all the time.”

Owens said it is gratifying to help create “a beautiful neighborhood and a safer one if glass is picked up, preventing possible harm to children and animals.”

Being a “Litter Gitter” is not all about work, though.

“I have so much fun being with this group,” Owens said. “We all met because of our dogs down at the Irondale Furnace on Stone River.”

“I didn’t know I was part of the ‘Litter Gitters’ until last week, because I picked up trash by myself on our walks,” Chandler said in early November.

“It’s not usual to see someone’s face light up when offered the opportunity to go on a quest for trash, and they are a great group of people,” said Ellis, who has lived in Cherokee Bend since 1971. “It’s delightful to know them and their dogs by name.”

In addition to litter, Ellis admits to an environmental pet peeve.

“It would also be good if everyone, including the Mountain Brook Park and Recreation Department and the Mountain Brook Education Department, trimmed English Ivy to keep it from climbing up trees, killing them, and causing road blockages, property damages, and power outages when they fall,” he said.

The Litter Gitters are not alone in their eco-efforts, Brown said.

Last year, Cub Scout Pack 3538 — in concert with the Freshwater Land Trust — began doing regular litter pickup along the McElwain Furnace Trail and the adjacent Shades Creek watershed, he said.

“These young folks recognize that their generation stands the most to lose if we don’t get ahead of the problem now,” Brown said.

The Litter Gitters encourage other residents of Mountain Brook to do their part to clean up litter in the city.

“Imagine what a positive difference it would make if everyone would simply pick up one piece of litter a day rather than simply stepping over it,” Brown said.

“Our environment right now is so fragile, anything we can do to protect it is worthwhile and I want to be involved in that effort,” Owens said.

“It is very personally rewarding to see the results of our efforts,” Chandler said. “Hopefully, others will also be proud of the results and join in.”

“Maybe others will either get involved or think twice before throwing something out of their window,” Owens said.