Adopt a Highway volunteers honored for improving environment
Adopt a Highway volunteers honored for improving environment
Recognition comes from Arizona Department of Environmental Quality
PHOENIX – The Arizona Department of Environmental Quality (ADEQ) is honoring the thousands of volunteers who help keep our state grand through the Arizona Department of Transportation’s Adopt a Highway program.
ADEQ’s Voluntary Environmental Stewardship Program has selected Adopt a Highway for its Copper Level, which recognizes partnerships, collaborations or regulated facilities that make measurable improvements to Arizona’s environment. To learn more about this program, please visit azdeq.gov/VESP.
“ADEQ deeply values the dedication of the thousands of volunteers who work to safeguard Arizona's environment,” said Len Drago, ADEQ Voluntary Environmental Stewardship Program Coordinator. “Their efforts through the Adopt a Highway program reflect the spirit of community and environmental stewardship. It's our honor to recognize their contributions in our Voluntary Environmental Stewardship Program at the Copper Level. Working together, we are preserving the beauty of our state for generations to come.”
More than 6,000 Adopt a Highway volunteers tend to their adopted miles throughout the year, supported by permitting and maintenance staff in each of ADOT’s seven engineering and maintenance districts statewide. In 2022 alone, their efforts filled more than 12,500 bags of litter while contributing time and effort worth more than $600,000.
“Adopt a Highway works because of a diverse population of dedicated volunteers and the ADOT permit technicians and maintenance team members who support them,” said Mary Currie, Adopt a Highway Program Manager. “All Arizonans and welcomed visitors benefit from the many hours put in by volunteers – Arizona residents who beautify the highways that for many form a first impression of the Grand Canyon State.”
ADOT Adopt a Highway enables civic-minded individuals, families, religious groups and others to receive two-year permits to clean up roadside litter on highway segments, largely in rural areas, that are deemed safe for volunteers. In addition to the satisfaction of making state highways more attractive, volunteers are recognized with signs identifying their adopted miles.
For more information and to join our Adopt a Highway family, please visit azdot.gov/AdoptAHighway.