Restoring Thompson Woods to its natural status through volunteers in the Adopt-A-Patch program and concerned donors will allow future generations to enjoy the natural beauty of the small, mid-campus forest. But relying on this program alone will not solve all the problems contained in the woods.

Anyone who decides to stroll through the woods will see several problems, all created by humans, not only exotic plant species, that take away from the natural beauty of the forest.

When walking down any trail a person is almost guaranteed to see garbage along the path or even well off the path. Some garbage is even found less than 10 feet from the nearest garbage can. How much effort can it take to walk the extra few feet to deposit trash where it belongs?

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Students and others walking through the woods could easily reduce this problem by simply throwing their trash into the garbage cans.

But students are not the sole problem concerning the woods. The various garbage cans throughout the woods are left unattended until they are past capacity. This occasional simple oversight not only looks repulsive, but it adds to the amount of garbage already on the ground when the wind blows it out of the canisters.

Also along some of the paths are several broken or mangled lamp posts. These rusted distractions, some of which stand more than a foot tall, could be dangerous if tripped over. Removing the broken or non-functioning posts would improve the view, but a better solution would be to replace the broken posts so the paths could be utilized after dark.

Lighting the paths would make them visible at night, but some of the paths are in desperate need of repair. The broken and uneven asphalt makes walking difficult in some areas and could make travel in a wheelchair hazardous.

Trying to reclaim the woods is an applaudable and worthwhile effort, but students, faculty and everyone at the University could aid in keeping the woods beautiful. Reclaiming and retaining the aesthetic beauty of Thompson Woods should be a concern of everyone, not just the select few involved with Adopt-A-Patch.