KILLEEN, Texas (KXXV) — “One day we went to that park and then we keep going there because it is near us and sometimes when we pass by there, there’s a bridge, and near it the river and we were like oh wow there’s a lot of trash there,” Antonio Tavera, 10-year-old volunteer said.
- Antonio has collected over 1,000 pounds of trash since March 2024
- 10-year-old received an award from the city
- Many of the items collected are needles
- The Andy K. Wells hike and bike trail at Lions Club Park opened in October 2011.
BROADCAST TRANSCRIPT:
10-year-old Antonio Tavera's sense of community pride began to take over. Antonio and his father, Martein, have been cleaning the park every month since March of last year, taking photos of trash collected while cleaning up their community.
English isn't Marein's first language, but he 25 News the park is one of their favorites for walking. And he's proud of his son for stepping up.
"It makes me happy that he helps me. He's only 10 years old, so I'm trying to show him the importance of helping the environment and our community. The trash there can result in a lot of contamination and it also makes our neighborhood look bad because everything is dirty. So every time we clean, we take a before and after picture. I want to thank you for talking to us and giving us a way to communicate with our community and tell our story about cleaning up our community. Hopefully, more people find out about what we're doing and encourage others to do the same thing,“ Martein said.
Antonio says he has collected a lot of clothes, learned of the meaning of pollution and deterioration, and the difference between what is good and bad
“We find needles and we have to watch out for those because sometimes they are opened,” Antonio said.
Since March of 2024, they have collected more than 1,000 pounds of trash cleaning the park once a month.
“Hello everybody this Sunday 9th of February we did the third cleaning activity of the year and we filled up 20 bags of trash,” Antonio said on the recorded Facebook video.
Watch Epiphany learn about their clean-up efforts here:
He says he only wants our neighbors to join if it's in their hearts to clean where they live. Antonio hopes to earn a trash picker just as he earned a Killeen community star award.
“I can’t really explain, I was happy, I was excited, I don’t really know how to explain it but it was really a great thing I was super happy, “ Antonio said.
Trash bags are much needed since the trail they are cleaning is a part of the region’s vision to eventually complete a series of trails linking Lake Belton and Still Hollow Lake.
To follow, join, or donate to their journey click here.
