Tomorrow BMECC members will gather at PA 183 to clean their 2-mile adopt-a-highway section which straddles the Berks-Schuylkill County line. Since club activities with few exceptions are open to the public and advertised in The Reading Eagle, I thought I'd post it here.

Refer to BMECC's events schedule (http://www.bmecc.org/Schedule%20of%20Events.htm) for more information. Call the activity leader if you have any questions.

Click on the link to learn more about PennDOT's adopt-a-highway program (http://www.dot.state.pa.us/Internet/Bureaus/pdHwyBeau.nsf/HomePageHighwayBeautification?OpenForm), the largest of it's kind.

I'll put my two cent's worth in, too. Even though I can't participate this time because of all of the PT that I need after my surgery, this is a great activity, and the people aren't so bad, either! BMECC adopted this 2-mile stretch of highway over 10 years ago - one mile on either side of where the AT crosses Pa. Rt. 183. It's a rural area and there seems to be a lot of trash that "magically flies out of car windows" and collects along the roadway. BMECC has always viewed this clean-up activity as a logical extension of its trail maintaining activities, since it is so close to the AT. And even if you can't stay all morning, even an hour's worth of help would be greatly appreciated, and you could meet some nice folks from the club.

When following links from PennDOT's site, I discovered a link to DCNR's Forest Lands Beautification Program. I believe I've read about efforts in my own county which may have been funded through this program although I hadn't known about the program's history or it's finer points.

To learn more, click on http://www.cleanpaforests.org.