ARLINGTON – To honor Earth Day, seniors and juniors at Arlington High School’s AP Environmental Science removed trash from Portage Creek and the surrounding banks near the covered bridge at Crown Ridge Boulevard. They also tested the creek’s water quality. “It’s really sad to see so much trash floating in the water and laying on the banks,” AHS science teacher Haifa Iversen said. “I explain to the students that trash from the stream flows into the Stillaguamish River and empties into the Puget Sound. Earth Day is a great time to remind people to stop polluting and dispose of their trash correctly.”

Iversen said trash can impact salmon in the stream. Students were shocked and embarrassed by how much trash they discovered. “It was disappointing to see all that garbage but I’m glad we were able to clean it up,” junior Dylan Corpron said. “It feels good to do our part to keep our neighborhood clean.”