Marissa Pringle

4/14/2024
Community – Service Learning Journal
Community service isn't just a gesture of kindness; it's an experience that teaches us
empathy, responsibility, and a sense of belonging. This spring my family and I volunteered to
pick up trash along Highway 13 in Waseca, Minnesota through Minnesota’s “Adopt a Highway”
program. The springtime weather melts the snow and unveils all the garbage that accumulates
throughout winter. This particular stretch of highway has been adopted by my family for many
years, as several of my family members have lived along this road, including my late
grandparents. There are also multiple wildlife game refuges and crop fields along the highway.
Keeping a clean highway is key part of maintaining a healthy habitat for the refuge and is
important to my family. Every year my extended family gathers to pick up litter while sharing
memories and usually a meal afterwards.
The adopt a highway program requires groups to pick up litter at least twice a year. The
program has been around since 1990. It is not only incredibly beneficial to the environment but
has also saved Minnesota taxpayers millions of dollars.1 This year our spring weather came early
in Minnesota, and my family decided to schedule our first clean-up for early April. I arranged to
pick up vests and trash bags from the Public Works Main office in Waseca. When the day
arrived, we had a total of eleven family members, ranging from the ages of 24 to 66 years old
who were able to help.
 Part of our group ready to start picking trash.
Our section of highway is a little over 1 mile long. We divided into four groups, and each
group started at the end of our section and worked towards the middle. After we all made it to the
meeting point, groups switched sides of the road to get a second look at the ditches to ensure
nothing was left behind. Each person had an important role to play, whether it was finding the
litter or carrying the garbage bags. Like medical dosimetry, teamwork and communication were
critical to getting the job completed. This year we decided to have a friendly competition as to
which group could collect the most garbage and find the most interesting object.

My husband Ian, by our family’s Adopt a Highway sign.

We spent a total of 2.5 hours walking along the highway searching for trash. My family
and I collected a total of twenty-two bags of litter along the highway. We loaded up all the bags
and left them at a checkpoint for the highway department to pick up the following day. This
annual tradition is a great way for my family to give back to the community, take care of the
environment, and reconnect as a family.
 Part of the twenty-two trash bags we picked up.

References
1. Moini N. Adopt a Highway volunteers save state millions. Minnesota Public Radio
News. Published May 5, 2018. Accessed April 15, 2024.
https://www.mprnews.org/story/2018/05/05/adopt-a-highway-volunteers-keep-roads-
clean-mdash-and-save-minnesota-millions-of-dollars