As Round Rock continues to grow, local green spaces have started to become seriously strained. The Brushy Creek trail system is currently suffering from heavy littering, overflowing amounts of trash, and especially environmental runoff, which is directly threatening local watershed and wildlife.  Every weekend, the more popular parts of the trail are filled to the brim and beyond,  and not only the trash cans. There's people littering on creek banks too, and this is all plastic waste that washes directly into the water during rain storms. This has become such a frequent issue that can and should not be ignored.

This  is directly threatening the Brushy Creek watershed's health. When trash starts to accumulate along these trails, wind and rain carry plastic water bottles, aluminum cans, and harmful chemicals straight to the creek bed. This runoff  is polluting our local water supply, harming the wildlife, and speeding up the soil erosion critically. According to the environmental standards outlined in the UN SDG for Clean Water and Life on Land, protecting local watersheds is extremely important for community health in the long-term run. If we don't act to protect Brushy Creek now, the environmental damage to the city's favorite outdoor spot will become very difficult and expensive to treat/reverse. 

The real root of this problem is within our current waste management system. The open-top trash cans that are currently in place along the trails are extremely inadequate for the number of people that use the parks every day. On busy days, these trash cans overflow very quickly, and the wildlife in the trails scatter the trash everywhere. To fix this, I'm asking the City of Round Rock yo proiritize funding for trash cans with higher capacity, wildlife-proof waste, and a place to recycle plastic water bottles and other things at major trailheads and other places with high traffic. Upgrading to a better system will keep our parks clean, reduce the maintenance crew's workload, and lessen the amount of plastic that is currently entering the waterways.

In addition to better trash systems, we need the community to stay actively involved in making sure Round Rock stays clean. I propose that the Parks and Recreation Department partner with Round Rock ISD to create a student volunteer program, as high schoolers such as myself are constantly looking for opportunities to volunteer that are meaningful, and end up having a real impact on the community. By having a structured program where high schoolers can have biweekly train cleanups and monitor how healthy the creek is, the city can continue to maintain these spaces at a low cost, while our generation learns the environmental impact of waste and the importance of helping out when they see an issue.

Our community cares deeply about preserving the natural side of Round Rock. The signatures on this petition can show our city leaders just how much the people of Round Rock care about wanting to see proactive steps being taken to make sure that our environment can keep up with the rapid growth of our population. Our city is growing, but our standards shouldn't be shrinking.