By Laura Petersen
Since 1996, Monique Ehrgood, owner of Miner Moe’s Pizza in Nevada City has picked up trash four times a year along a section of road between Nevada City Highway and Banner Lava Cap.
For 28 years, Ehrgood and the Miner Moe’s team have served as volunteers in Nevada County’s Adopt-A-Road program committed to keeping an adopted segment of county roadway free of litter.
It’s a way to give back to her community and keep it beautiful, said Ehrgood.
“To me it was a no brainer. At the time, in 1996, I did it to promote our business. As more years went by, I did it because I enjoyed it. I love our town,” said Ehrgood. Recently, the City of Grass Valley annexed her section of roadway, so she is now taking care of a one-mile stretch of Burma Road off Brunswick.
With Earth Day April 22 celebrated a few days ago, now is great time to consider signing up for Nevada County’s Adopt-A-Road program.
Community volunteers have adopted 50 roads within the County network and an additional 26 are now available for adoption. Nevada County maintains approximately 560 miles of the nearly 1,300 miles of roads that weave through the County. The remaining 740 miles of roads are within city limits, federal lands or Caltrans highways. A significant number of roads are considered not adoptable due to safety concerns and remoteness.
Adopt-A-Road volunteers monitor one to two miles of roadway and can be individuals, non-political organizations, businesses or a combination of all three. Volunteers must be at least 18 years of age. The Adopt-A-Road program compliments the Board of Supervisors most recent objectives on climate resilience.
“It’s not always businesses who become volunteers. We have a lot of family groups and sporting groups,” said Karyn Kiger, who oversees the program for Nevada County’s Public Works Department.
While there are no dedicated funding sources for litter removal, volunteers help keep our community clean. Meanwhile, Public Works maintains County roads, wastewater treatment and collections facilities, solid waste transfer stations, manage major road and bridge engineering projects, oversee the County fleet of vehicles and provide public transportation via Nevada County Connects. Public Works has six divisions including: Engineering, Roads Maintenance, Solid Waste, Wastewater, Transit, and Fleet.
“It’s nice to have that helping hand and get that community involvement. We really appreciate the effort to keep Nevada County litter free for other residents and visitors,” said Kiger.
The program is free and volunteers get recognition for their hard work with roadway signage. Nevada County provides safety training, tools and supplies such as vests, orange garbage bags and “pickers” and is responsible for roadside trash collection.
Volunteers commit to at least one year and coordinate trash pickup quarterly. There are no limits and some groups, like the Lake Wildwood Association, go out weekly.
County employees are even getting into the act and have adopted La Barr Meadows Road, where the Nevada County Operation Center houses transit services, roads and the county’s fleet which maintains 430 vehicles and various equipment. At a recent volunteer cleanup event, county staff dedicated about 20 hours of volunteer time collecting trash along the roadway.
Some volunteer groups have been partnering with the county for almost three decades, like Mike Mastrodonato of Penn Valley Mini Storage monitors Spenceville Road to Western Gateway Park.
“There are a lot of people who don’t like to see trash on the road and want to make a difference,” said Kiger.
It’s easy to apply. Residents can learn more and sign up at www.nevadacountyca.gov/adoptaroad.
Nevada County Earth Day Activities
- Nevada County’s Transit, Elections, Public Health, Building and Climate teams will be at Nevada City’s Earth Fest 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Sunday, April 21 in downtown Nevada City. County employees will be on hand to share information and fun nature-based youth activities.
- Nevada County Connects will offer Free Bus Fare Days on April 20 and 22. Learn more at www.nevadacountyca.gov/transit.
- Beginning Monday, April 22, Nevada County, Nevada City and Grass Valley will host a photo contest in partnership with the Nevada County Arts Council to promote the dark skies initiative. Learn more at www.nevadacountyca.gov/darkskies.
Laura Petersen is a freelance writer living in Grass Valley. This is one of a series of articles written on behalf of Nevada County. She can be reached at laurapetersenmedia@gmail.com.
