By Laurie Merrill /ADOT Communications

Let’s face it, not everyone jumps out of bed most mornings and says, “I’m going to clean a highway today!”

But keeping highways litter-free again motivates Mary Currie, program manager in charge of ADOT’s Adopt a Highway program. She's at right in the photos immediately above and below and solo in the picture farther down.

Currie's mission is spreading the word about the rewards of adopting a piece of highway and gathering with like-minded folks for a few hours of fellowship and community service.

“There is nothing glamorous about cleaning up other people’s litter or stuff that has blown out of a window or a truck bed,” Currie says. “But nearly 10,000 individuals did that for us last year.”

Among them was Currie, who has worked at ADOT since 2005. After stepping into her new role in late 2017, she quickly saw the wisdom of walking the walk.

After all, it’s hard to pitch an activity without firsthand experience.

Thus she organized ADOT Communications' own band of garbage removers, whose Adopt a Highway sign says, “Word Sayers and Trash Slayers.” They gather through out the year to spiff up a stretch on US 60 near Wittmann northwest of the Valley.

That team is one of  more than 900 whose members put on safety vests, wield trash pickers and stuff garbage into large plastic bags. There were 810 groups in 2017.

Currie notes that about 400 of the current groups adopted highway segments as a remembrance of a friend or family member. One such group, taking care of a stretch of State Route 260 in eastern Arizona, is the family and loved ones of Clint Fluhr, who passed away in 2007 at age 23 in Pinetop. Then there's Evelyn Oneil, who adopted a stretch of SR 79 south of Florence Junction to remember her son, U.S. Marine Brodie Jay Denow.

“It means so much to people that they can memorialize a loved one by getting together and doing something for the community in their honor like cleaning up trash,” Currie said.

One of the longstanding groups, The Prescott Litter Lifters, dates to 1981. They get together several-dozen strong for an hour twice a week.

“They currently clean over 60 miles of Prescott highway and area roads. Volunteers picked up over 6,000 bags of trash, and that's just since 2012,” Currie said.

Currie has initiated two programs to recognize volunteers, an Adopt a Highway quarterly newsletter and a certificate of appreciation given to each team leader.

“We want them to know that many are watching the good work they do, and let them know they are valued,” Currie said.

Another new feature is an Adopt a Highway interactive map that makes it easier for people to see which stretches of roadway may be up for adoption.

“These are groups or individuals that decide to take a step forward and make Arizona a better place,” Currie said. “They do it because they want to make a difference. This is what drives me.”

If you're interested in adopting a highway and helping keep Arizona litter-free, please visit azdot.gov/adoptahighway.

By Caroline Carpenter / ADOT Communications

We've learned there are a lot of people out there passionate about cleaning up their communities. Now there is a hashtag for them! Recently, the hashtags #Trashtag and #TrashtagChallenge starting trending on social media and went viral.

We'll explain for those you wondering: What is a hashtag, and what would I do with it?

In mid-March, people used the hashtag #Trashtag and posted photos of themselves cleaning up litter. Hikers collected trash on the mountains and beachgoers cleaned up the beaches. Then they posted selfies picking up litter and hashtagged them #Trashtag. A hashtag is like a Google search for social media. Users can go onto social media platforms like Twitter, Instagram and Facebook and use a hashtag to search for topics of interest. The hashtag #Trashtag was so popular that media outlets like Forbes, the BBC and Huffington Post took notice, writing stories about the movement.

If this hashtag inspires you to help make Arizona litter-free, we hope you'll consider turning that passion into action by becoming an Adopt a Highway volunteer. Hundreds of individuals and organizations have adopted stretches of state highways, and more stretches are available.

We'll provide safety vests, litter bags and safety training, and your group's name goes on an Adopt a Highway sign at the location. Volunteers agree to pick up litter there, preferably three or more times per year.

The efforts of Adopt a Highway volunteers go a long way toward keeping the highways clean and beautiful. That's a spirit we'd like to see go viral just like #Trashtag.

EDITOR'S NOTE: With Governor Doug Ducey proclaiming April 7-13 Arizona Volunteer Week, we're sharing a note that Mary J. Currie, who oversees ADOT Adopt a Highway programs, sent to the many volunteers who help make Arizona a nicer place by cleaning up litter along state highways. She also shared a copy of the proclamation, which is below. In the photos above, Mary, a volunteer herself, is at far left and bottom right.

National Volunteer Week is observed April 7-13 this year. We kicked off the celebration with a tribute to one of our longstanding volunteer groups (Adopt a Highway Volunteers appreciated all year, not just during National Volunteer Week). I am very proud of our nearly 10,000 volunteers who support our efforts to clean up Arizona's roadways.

Governor Ducey honored Adopt a Highway volunteers and all other volunteers who make Arizona such a special place by proclaiming Arizona Volunteer Week. I'm pleased to share that proclamation with you.

Thank you for enhancing the overall quality of life in your community, and choosing to do that through the Arizona Department of Transportation's Adopt a Highway volunteer program. For more information about the ADOT Adopt a Highway program please visit azdot.gov/AAH.

By Garin Groff / ADOT Communications

With this being National Volunteer Week, we’ve been figuring out the best way to show you the impact made by more than 900 volunteer groups who have adopted an Arizona highway.

And then we heard from volunteer Gene Van Dyken, who reports to us that his group’s weekly cleanups along Interstate 19 in Green Valley have already won the community’s appreciation.

“Yesterday a couple wrote in the (Green Valley) News, Letter to the Editor, “WE SEE YOU. The persons who get up early and clean the trash from the roadsides in Green Valley! We owe you a big thank you.”

Van Dyken is part of Green Valley Litter Patrol, an Adopt a Highway group that started about 2008 and has collected 3,182 bags of trash. The group volunteers every week, except during the hottest part of the year.

“We enjoy doing something that most everyone agrees is beneficial to our community,” Van Dyken said. “And we really like the camaraderie of the group. People notice the work we put into it.”

All of us at ADOT would also like to thank Van Dyken, his group and hundreds of passionate volunteers who collect litter across the state. Their efforts save taxpayers $500,000 a year!

If you’d like to be the next person or group to help beautify Arizona’s highways, we’re always welcoming new volunteers.

Check out our statewide map of highway sections available for adoption and learn more about the program.

By Garin Groff / ADOT Communications

Arizona is known for its scenic highways, whether they traverse deserts or forests, mountains or valleys.

But there’s more than geography at work, as our highways remain beautiful in part because more than 700 volunteer groups pick up litter along 1,500 miles of ADOT roadways.

Now we’re making it even easier for others to join our Adopt a Highway program by launching an interactive map showing which roadway segments are waiting for volunteers.

The map, available at azdot.gov/AdoptaHighway, allows visitors to quickly zoom in on any corner of Arizona to see adoptable highway segments. And with a simple click, you can connect directly to that highway’s Adopt a Highway coordinator.

Some volunteers tell us they’ve signed up because they’re winter visitors who want to get outside and enjoy Arizona’s scenery, while others do it as a memorial to a loved one.

Check out our new map, and maybe you’ll find your own source of inspiration to volunteer.

By Mary Currie / ADOT Communications

We arrived at 9:30 a.m. on Saturday, Jan. 26, to the Three Points/Robles Junction Community Center, a scenic 25-mile drive southwest of Tucson. The crisp, 50-degree morning could not have been more agreeable for a morning highway cleanup.

Melissa Owen of Rancho Sierra Vista de Sasabe was preparing an information table and off-loading three large heated containers of breakfast burritos.

Four years ago, Owen made a decision to go big. She would invite the neighborhood to participate in a large-scale volunteer cleanup. The catch? Her neighborhood is a bit bigger than most. It’s the 45 miles of State Route 286 between Robles Junction/Three Points and Arizona’s border with Mexico.

This year, volunteers began rolling in steadily from the Arizona Game and Fish Department, Buenos Aires National Wildlife Refuge and U.S. Customs and Border Protection Explorers program. They were signed in and, after a safety briefing, assigned a mile marker to begin cleaning up. Owen wasted no time getting everyone organized and passing out safety vests and the program’s signature blue trash bags.

Before the meeting broke, I thanked Melissa for her volunteer service and the participants for their support. Melissa received an Adopt a Highway Certificate of Appreciation for 22 years of volunteer service and a hearty round of applause.

The slideshow above has lots of photos from the day.

As it turns out, more than just Owen’s neighbors showed up. I spoke with a couple from Oro Valley near Tucson, a friend visiting from Texas and a couple who flew in from New York to support the effort.

On the way to mileposts 3 and 4, our designated spot, we stopped to talk with a few volunteers. An Explorer told me he enjoys volunteering and considers it fun. Another found a red construction flag and held it high for the group photo. A student with one group said she didn't have a paper due this weekend, so this was a good way to spend her Saturday.

Volunteers found a bevy of interesting items: a Christmas elf hat, retail tags still attached; an unfinished needle-point project; and an almost perfectly intact javelina skull – not everyone’s idea of a perfect souvenir, but the finder was delighted.

This was Owen’s fourth annual “All the Way to the Border” cleanup, and one thing was clear: Her dream of cleaning all 45 miles in a one-day event is quickly becoming a reality. In 2018, she had 60 volunteers who removed 80 bags worth of trash from 25 miles of roadway. This year, 70 dedicated participants collected 210 bags of trash along 31 miles.

If you are interested in joining a cleanup event in your area, please contact me at  [email protected]. For more information about the ADOT Adopt a Highway Volunteer program please visit azdot.gov/adoptahighway.

EDITOR'S NOTE: The author oversees ADOT Adopt a Highway programs.

By Mary Currie / ADOT Communications

Melissa Owen of Rancho Sierra Vista de Sasabe is a proponent of good clean fun.

As a testament to that, Owen, part of ADOT's Adopt a Highway program, coordinates what she calls “the almost annual All the Way to the Border Highway Cleanup” along State Route 286 in southern Arizona.

Last year, 60 volunteers, including friends, family, neighbors, businesses, a couple traveling in from New Mexico and a Texas law firm associate met at the Three Points Community Center to join the litter cleanup. Trico Electric Cooperative and the San Fernando School Parents Association provided food for the volunteers throughout the day.

The volunteers picked up 80 bags of litter and a couple of bicycles on a 25-mile stretch that's more than half of the roadway between Three Points to the north and Sasabe at the Mexico border.

This time around, Owen’s goal is far bigger: a one-day cleanup along the entire 45-mile length of SR 286 scheduled for Saturday, Jan. 26.

Jesuit missionaries in the 18th century followed a trail that is now SR 286, and it's used by ranchers, wildlife refuge volunteers and those traveling to and from Mexico. It winds through the western edge of the Buenos Aires National Wildlife Refuge and the eastern edge of the Tohono O’odham Nation, passing Baboquivari Peak and Kitt Peak along the way.

Owen, an area rancher, has been organizing litter pickups along scenic SR 286 since 1997. The photo atop this post shows her with a fellow volunteer at a 2016 event.

Ordinarily ADOT writes Adopt a Highway volunteer program permits for a time period of two years and a minimum of 2-mile sections along ADOT highways. Owen approached ADOT's South Central District with an idea: Would ADOT write an Adopt a Highway volunteer program permit for one day and 45 miles? The answer was yes.

Owen says organizing the estimated 200 people required for an endeavor on this scale will require more assistance from the community than she's arranged in the past. If you'd like to pitch in, her email is [email protected]. You also can email me at [email protected].

ADOT will be there Jan 26 to support the effort and these dedicated volunteers.

For more information about the ADOT Adopt a Highway Volunteer program, please visit azdot.gov/adoptahighway.

EDITOR'S NOTE: The author oversees ADOT Adopt a Highway programs.

By Mary Currie / ADOT Communications

With the holidays upon us, we're all pressed for time and gift ideas that wow.

I’ve got one for you. Rather than naming a star for someone, be the star by joining ADOT's Adopt a Highway volunteer program.

Adopt a Highway permit coordinators in your area are ready to help you locate a 2-mile stretch for your group to help keep litter-free. We supply trash bags and safety vests. You plan group cleanup events three times per year, report your litter and walk away a hero.

It’s the best gift you will ever give, to yourself and others interested in reducing unsightly litter on Arizona’s highways.

You could adopt a star. But Santa is watching, make him proud.

By Mary J. Currie /ADOT Communications

Adopt a Highway groups choose their segments of road for a variety of reasons: environment, community, teamwork and groups with like-minded beliefs.

What do they have in common? A commitment to removing unsightly litter and beautifying our highways.

More than 400 groups statewide adopted their segments as a memorial or remembrance of a friend or family member close to them. This isn't an easy subject to think about or write, but a subject that I want to share, including the silver lining.

It is my privilege to have met or conversed with group leaders who have shared their unique stories with me. The common thread: Memorial groups remember their loved ones by carrying out a meaningful service to the community in their honor.

If you are interested in a memorial adoption, please contact an ADOT permit technician located in your area for more information.

I will leave you with this:

Our son Clint passed away in September of 2007 at the age of 23. He loved the mountains and loved our family cabin in Pinetop. Spending time with his cousins and friends running around the forest was something that always put a smile on his face. As he got older his favorite thing to do was to go to Sunrise ski resort and snowboard.

We love the ADOT Adopt a Highway program that allows us, his family and friends, to honor Clint through keeping the highway and forest clean at Milepost 267 and in doing so remembering him.

Keeping Arizona Highways clean is important to us and being a volunteer through ADOT is our way of contributing to an important cause.

The Fluhr Family
SR 260, Milepost 267

Thank you to the Fluhr family and others who have shared their stories with me and who have found the silver lining.

EDITOR'S NOTE: The author oversees ADOT's Adopt a Highway program.