As people spend more time outdoors during the warmer months, the Dallas County Conservation Board reminds people to clean up. 

Dallas County Conservation Board Outreach Coordinator Sarah Gilchrist reminds people that they need to be leaving with the items they have come with when visiting places such as parks throughout Dallas County. 

“Anything that you carry in with you needs to leave with you, any kind of garbage, trash, water bottles. Anything that you might even see, you could help us out if you see some kind of trash that someone else left behind, if you could pick that up and take it with you. It really just helps to enhance everyone’s experience.”

Gilchrist tells Raccoon Valley Radio last year when the Project AWARE group came through and completed their clean up project along the Raccoon River it showed how much trash ends up in the waterways. Gilchrist says hopefully people can become connected to the area through the programming the Board offers.

“One of the things that we are doing as kind of a side benefit is a program called Humpday Prairie Hikes and those are going to be on Wednesdays in the end of July and August and that is going to be at Voas Nature area. If you come and see all the beauty that we have there, the wildflowers are just amazing, you start really appreciating and getting emotionally connected with that area. The last thing you want to see is somebody’s fast food bag laying on the side there.”

For more information on activities available throughout Dallas County including camping you can go here.