The countdown to the Super Bowl next month includes an effort by NFL Green to help clean up part of the host city.
Underneath Mesa’s Red Mountain hundreds of volunteers who appreciate Arizona’s beauty know if you look closely, there are some things left behind by others that aren’t so pretty.
Volunteers like Leah Terry of Phoenix made the drive out to the Tonto National Forest on a cold Saturday morning to help our state stay the postcard destination it's known to be.
“I’m happy that It’s clean, and I don’t have to see Truly cans,” said Leah holding a trash bag full of dirt-covered shoes, hats and cans.
To stay motivated for a dirty job, former Arizona Cardinal defensive end Ray Perkins gave his new teammates a gameplan that prolonged Saturday’s clean-up effort.
”We have to love each other and we teach people how to serve, it’s very important,” he said.
For those wearing blue shirts with a seal on the back that reads, ‘Snailed it!’, they know a thing or two about service.
Steve Gonzalez is with Force Blue, a non-profit veteran service organization that puts former highly-trained military divers underwater to conduct marine environmental operations.
A key part of their service is working with Gold Star family members like Danielle Fedder.
Her father died serving as a marine bomb tech over a decade ago.
Force Blue helped give her an opportunity to see the world underwater.
“It’s an entirely different world down there. It’s so peaceful when you’re down there. I’ve never done a mission like this before,” said Danielle.
That mission: Salt River apple snail cluster hunting. The challenge with the operation is underwater visibility. Drivers say you can barely see your own hand at times while searching.
The invasive apple snail cluster eats away at vegetation and ecosystems, leaving little food for native fish and wildlife.
Each one in the clusters of hundreds can grow the size of an apple and they host a parasite that causes meningitis.
”We’re going to go down there and attack them like any other mission set and hopefully make a good impact today,” said Gonzalez.
The game plan is to leave Arizona cleaner than they found it.
