The Twenty Mile Creek ecosystem is under attack. Over a decade and a half ago, the area found itself in the crosshairs of a transportation battle. The city had a plan in place to build an alternative north-south road through Douglas. The plan called for extending Herbert Batten Road south into the Twenty Mile Creek watershed before intersecting with Bowens Mill Road near Touchton Woods. Thankfully, this plan didn’t pass.
In the interim, the Douglas Greenway Trail has been extended north across Chester Avenue to the old railroad trestle on the Shop Pond, seemingly a nod to preserving this important ecosystem located primarily within the city limits.
While the area remains undeveloped, it also remains uncared for. The Twenty Mile Creek area is filthy (as are most of the county’s roadways; it appears as though as a community, we care little about the cleanliness of our city and county, but that’s a topic for another day) and strewn with litter. Two young activists took notice and decided to do something about it.
Yesterday – April 1 – a group of volunteers, led by Tyler Lott and Chris Adams of Adams & Lott Full Circle Outdoors, gathered on the north end of the trail and began cleaning. Part of their Keeping Coffee Green project, about 50 volunteers joined them, including a large group from South Georgia State College. In three hours, the crew gathered 143 bags of trash and nearly 40 tires.
In addition, they saw numerous species of wildlife, including nine snakes (reptiles are Adams’s and Lott’s first love). “Altogether it was an awesome day,” Adams wrote on his Facebook page. “Once again I’d like to say thanks to all the volunteers. You will be seeing more projects of ours real soon.”
As important as this project was, it will amount to little if keeping Douglas and Coffee County clean isn’t a priority for community leaders. Maybe they will take notice and see how important a clean environment is. In the meantime, look for more big things from Adams & Lott Full Circle Outdoors. They are knowledgeable, motivated, and committed to making a difference. They proved that yesterday.