Even before many of us become Cornell students, the phrase “Ithaca is Gorgeous” becomes a staple of our Ithaca experience. Talking walks around the multiple trails we are privileged to have near campus, it is quite easy to become enthralled in the beauty of the surrounding environment. But while we take our selfies by the gorges and upload them onto Instagram or on our Snapchat stories, few of us stop to think about how the Cascadilla Gorge Trail remains so clean despite so much foot traffic, especially now that the weather is finally getting better- at least it’s something that I seldom thought off. Having gotten the chance to participate in this gorge cleanup was a great opportunity not only to walk the trial one more time, but also goes to show that doing our share to keep the gorges clean is a simple task that can help keep “Ithaca Gorgeous.”

This week I participated in Gorge Cleanup service. The gorge, after being closed for so long after long winter, was in need of maintenance. The gorge was beautiful as ever! It was one of the rarest days in Cornell where it felt like spring has finally arrived. I was able to enjoy the nice weather and be one of the few people to enjoy gorge before anyone else. I have realized that Gorge, which is the main part of Cornell’s ecosystem, was in more help from the community in order to maintain its beauty. Although there were many students there to help out the cleanup, there were definitely more works to be done before official opening to the public.  I have never seen the behind the scene of maintaining public recreation and ecosystem of Cornell and it was definitely an eye-opening experience. I hope that in the future, there are more such events more open to the public so that the whole Cornell community can come help maintain the beautiful scenery of Ithaca and Cornell community.