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From trash to treasured bluebonnets; Litter Lifters cleanup Feb. 4

Hill Country Litter Lifters

Hill Country Litter Lifters volunteers Chris Hinojsa (left), Tom Rapp, Eric Sanchez, Rod Lange, Chuck Paramore, Irene Poth, Lisa Mills, Terry Nuss, and Jeff Wassom celebrate a successful morning of picking up trash along a stretch of RR 1431 on Jan. 7. The group hopes to attract more volunteers for its next cleanup on Feb. 4, when they will plant bluebonnet seeds. Courtesy photo

Hill Country Litter Lifters volunteers plan to replace trash and debris with natural beauty during their next cleanup, which is Saturday, Feb. 4. As they pick up litter, they will plant bluebonnet seeds along a stretch of RR 1431.

The event is from 8:30-11:30 a.m. with a meetup at the intersection of FM 1980 and RR 1431 west of Marble Falls.

The Texas Department of Transportation donated the wildflower seeds after group founder and leader Tom Rapp inquired about additional ways to beautify the 2-mile portion of 1431 that the group adopted.

“I was aware that TxDOT planted wildflowers along highways, so I ran the idea past them, and they said they’d send me the flowers,” Rapp said. “Now, I’ve got a great, big envelope of bluebonnet seeds we’ll be putting out there.”

The idea is that bluebonnets in full bloom will make litterers reconsider tossing their trash.

“My hope is people will see a beautiful carpet of flowers out there and think twice before throwing out their cans and their bottles,” he said.

The inspiration for planting wildflowers stemmed from Rapp’s time serving on the Governor’s Commission on Community Service board while living in Colorado. During Rapp’s six-year tenure, the commission planted hundreds of wildflowers along roads across the state.

TxDOT will provide vests and trash bags for the Feb. 4 event. Volunteers are encouraged to bring their own trash grabbers, though a few will be available to borrow. During the Litter Lifters’ last cleanup on Jan. 7, volunteers collected 36 bags of debris and litter. 

To learn more about the Hill Country Litter Lifters, contact Rapp at 303-887-5649 or twrapp@comcast.net.

nathan@thepicayune.com