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Jump In — The Mud’s Great!

By John Daly

Most parents would discourage their kids from getting their hands dirty and tracking mud into the house, but a new campaign to clean up Puget Sound is, surprisingly, pushing people to do just that. “MudUp,” a bold new campaign to engage the public in conserving, protecting and restoring the Sound was launched on May 31 by the Alliance for Puget Sound Shorelines (a joint effort of The Nature Conservancy, People For Puget Sound and The Trust for Public Land).

For those who have participated in Puget Sound cleanup events in the past, the rewards of seeing a restored beach in your back yard are pretty fantastic. If one were to take a “before” and “after” shot of these ailing shorelines, the “before” shot would be littered with garbage and choking on invasive plants such as ivy and spartina. The “after” shot would show healthy new native plantings, a clean beach, and a tired but satisfied group of muddy, dedicated volunteers.

The idea behind MudUp.org is to bring all of these cleanup events, which are getting bigger and bigger every year, into a clearinghouse website where people can find out where all the many and varied activities are taking place all over the region.

Want to find out how to jump in on South Sound Saturdays to weed and plant restoration sites? It’s on MudUp.org. Want to find out how to catch a glimpse of the elusive Mud Monster, MudUp’s official friendly mascot? He’s on MudUp.org, where you can also email him for advice and network with other people who belong to MudUp, all while sharing your favorite Puget Sound stories, photos and videos.

If you’ve never taken part in a Puget Sound cleanup event before, jump in — the mud’s great! If you bring your kids to a cleanup event, they’ll probably have so much fun that you’ll actually convince them that cleaning up is a good thing. And, you’ll be part of a fun-loving community with the same goal — to clean up Puget Sound.

With activities for young and old, families and weekend mud warriors, it’ll be all-out fun. Our deadline is June 2009. By then, we’re going to try to create 10 new parks and natural areas along Puget Sound shorelines, restore 100 miles of shoreline, and protect 1,000 miles of shoreline.

It’s an ambitious work plan. But we’re confident we’re going to succeed and we’re counting on you to help us. So MudUp! It’s time to get dirty for the Sound. To find out how you can take part in MudUp, just go to http://www.mudup.org

John Daly is program director for the Alliance for Puget Sound Shorelines.

MudUp’s Mud Monster on Earth Day 2007. (Photo: Alliance for Puget Sound Shorelines)


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Updated 2015/01/07 21:14:22