GLENVILLE, W.Va. – Several Glenville State College students within the Department of Land Resources recently traveled to Lewis County to participate in a volunteer trash pickup around Stonewall Jackson Lake.

The group of students, along with Academic Laboratory Instructional Assistant Tom Snyder, joined C. Scott Hannah, a Natural Resources Specialist – Park Ranger at Stonewall Jackson Lake.

A Glenville State graduate himself, Hannah says that volunteer opportunities benefit the lake property and the student volunteers alike.

“The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Stonewall Jackson Lake, strives to develop and continue partnerships with our college community through volunteer programming to improve and preserve our natural landscape for years to come. In addition, volunteer programming allows students to get familiar with the Corps Mission with a hands-on experience and open a doorway for recruitment opportunities for their career path. Historically, many Glenville State College students have been hired and excelled within the Corps Family,” said Hannah.

Hannah says that Glenville State helped him earn a career with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers over the past 21 years, from a student ranger to a lead ranger. He has worked at Burnsville, Sutton, R.D. Bailey, and Stonewall Jackson Lakes.

“Stonewall is a beautiful lake, and I’m glad we had the opportunity to help clean up one of the areas most affected by littering. We had a small turnout, but I think we did a great job, and I appreciated the dedication and hard work that the other members, Mr. Snyder, and Ranger Hannah displayed in the cleanup,” said Lexi Pletcher, a senior Natural Resource Management student and one of the volunteers. “Everyone who helped out agreed that it was a great experience, and we actually had a fun time. We all recognize the importance of keeping areas around waterways clean, not just for recreational and aesthetic purposes, but for the health of wildlife and water quality as well.”

Within a few hours, the group had collected quite a bit of trash – enough to fill a full-size long bed pickup truck twice.