CAMP DENALI, Alaska, - About 25 Alaska National Guard members and 35 recruits from the Alaska Army National Guard's Recruit Sustainment Program partnered with the Alaska Department of Fish and Game to clean the Goose Bay State Game Refuge during a "Guard the Environment" event this past weekend.
Guard the Environment is a National Guard program that encourages members to proactively participate in environmentally-friendly activities to impact the environment, give back to their local communities and train its members to be positive stewards of the environment.
Environmental-friendly activities include community recycling efforts, planting trees or other appropriate vegetation and cleaning up local neighborhoods, parks and trails.
"I think the Guard the Environment events are important because it shows that we not only care about our community, but we do what we can to take care of it as well," said Staff Sgt. Michael Wright, drill sergeant, Alaska National Guard Recruiting and Retention Command.
The Guardsmen, recruits and 12 members of the Department of Fish and Game spent an entire day cleaning the woods area and shore of Goose Bay.
Eight old abandoned vehicles were removed from the shore and hundreds of yellow trash bags and large metal trash bins were filled with waste ranging from old shoes, cans and cardboards to refrigerators and computers.
Joe Meehan, refuge manager, Department of Fish and Game, stated that the total amount of waste removed is estimated to about 20 tons.
"I'm proud to be a part of a team that is helping the environment and making it better for our citizens and wildlife to enjoy," said Spc. Jamie Ledbetter, a recruit with the Alaska Army National Guard's Recruit Sustainment Program. "I already feel like a National Guardsman because I'm doing what they do, which is help out the community when they can. It's truly a great feeling."