SAFE Trail Clean-up

Payton Benedict

Feb 13, 2023

While the recent cold weather is keeping many indoors, the Student Association for the Environment (SAFE) members are set on doing their part to better the environment. Several students involved in the organization took time out of their Friday afternoon to clean up the James E. Henry Nature Trail that neighbors the Illinois Central College (ICC) East Peoria Campus. The clean up took place from 12 to 1 p.m., and they worked on trimming up trees and other forestry, ensuring the path was clear of debris and making certain other students could walk the trail comfortably. The students are making use of the resources available to make a difference in the world around them through both environmental conservation and preservation.

Members of SAFE are passionate about improving the campus grounds to not only make the nature areas more livable for the different plant and animal species, but consequently improve the appearance of the college. Members also want to reach other students across campus and get them involved in their projects.

 “Our mission is to both educate people about environmental issues that are problematic, especially in our area, and to bring attention to anything that we or other people can be doing to fix those problems,”  according to Jordan Bohannan, co-president of SAFE. 

While Bohannan is driven towards the club’s mission, he also wants his time here to be a stepping stone towards his future goals.

“I’m going into marine biology and conservation and this was something that I felt would be a good step towards that future,” said Bohannan.

This SAFE event was just one of the many  planned for the remainder of the semester. There are about 15 members involved with the organization’s events. 

Bohannan stated, “In the upcoming months, we’re planning to go behind student dorms and clean up that area because there is a lot of trash back there from people just throwing things back there. We also plan to keep maintaining the trails like we are going to do today and then we have some other stuff around the area we are going to be doing along that same line.”

SAFE is welcoming new students who are looking to get involved. Students interested in joining SAFE are encouraged to attend the meetings, held in room 318E in the academic building on the  East Peoria campus, Monday’s and Friday’s weekly. Students can also contact the SAFE advisors which can answer further questions. Those advisors are Jennifer Fenner, Kristin Jacobson-Flex, and Tom Haner. You can reach Jennifer Fenner via email at jen.fenner@icc.edu or join the SAFE canvas page.