Trails along the Alamo Wash — especially popular with walkers when the wash carries water from recent rains — get a helping hand from volunteers who keep the area clean and free of litter.
An Adopt-A-Wash program sign at the site credits the Old Fort Lowell Neighborhood Association, and a nearby panel for an Adopt-A-Park effort credits the Basis Buffel Bandits for helping keep the Alamo Wash Linear Park free of invasive buffelgrass.
Some years ago, “We noticed that the county and city were short on funds and had a little trouble keeping the wash clean,” said Frank Flasch, a member of the Old Fort Lowell Neighborhood Association Council. “So we put out a notice to the neighborhood that we were going to focus on cleaning up the Alamo Wash.
“Now we get more and more people involved because they appreciate how clean the wash is,” Flasch said.
He credited volunteer Bob Lindrub for picking up lots of litter left by people and detritus washed down the watercourse and deposited there when the flow stops.
“He picks up bags of trash, and those of us who walk along the wash pick things up and put them in the bag,” Flasch said.
The scarcity of invasive buffelgrass allows the native vegetation — including mesquite trees, shrubs and wildflowers — to dominate the streamside landscape.
A walker takes in the scenic setting along Alamo Wash near Fort Lowell Road.
WALK THE WASH
Trails beckon walkers on both sides of the wash between East Fort Lowell Road and East Glenn Street.
Many people seeking light exercise in a verdant setting follow the wash on one side and then return on the other side for a round-trip walk of half a mile or so.
Fort Lowell-area resident Frank Flasch says people volunteer to keep the wash clean because they appreciate how nice it looks.
Walkers often find wild blooms even in winter along Alamo Wash. — Credit: Doug Kreutz/Arizona Daily Star
Adopt-A-Park volunteers.
Alamo Wash between Glenn Street and Fort Lowell Road often holds some water after periods of substantial rain.
