Nearly every morning for the past four years, an Arlington 87-year-old has made the trek from his apartment in Ballston to Glencarlyn Park to scour the recreation area for litter.
Alan Wile typically leaves his home around 7 a.m. and spends the next two to three hours combing the trails and picnic areas of the 100-acre park. He collects an average of three to four bags of trash each day — everything from beer bottles and cans to discarded diapers and plastic bags.
“I don’t like the trash and it gives me something to do and there’s plenty to do,” he told ARLnow during one of his trash collection missions yesterday (Monday).
After a career that took him to Japan, Israel and Jacksonville, Fla., Wile — a New York native and retired Navy intelligence officer — settled in Arlington about 30 years ago to work at the State Department, where he spent another eight years before fully retiring.
In 2018, he and his wife, Patty, moved to The Jefferson, a retirement community that offers regular bus trips to local destinations like Glencarlyn Park. For years, Wile wandered the park’s trails with his neighbors every Tuesday and Friday until 2020, when the COVID-19 pandemic made such gatherings unsafe.
With the group bus trips suspended, Wile, missing his regular outings, started driving himself to the park every morning to roam the trails alone. It was during these solitary walks that he began to notice the considerable amount of litter marring the park.
“Walking alone is different from walking with a group of people because you look around a little bit more. Otherwise, you’re engaged in conversation,” he said. “So I looked around and was like, ‘There’s so much trash and it’s… too nice of a place.'”
Frustrated with the state of the trails, Wile decided to tackle the cleanup himself. He drives to the parking lot at the Long Branch Nature Center each morning, armed with a trash grabber, bags, a pair of gloves and a few dog treats.
Despite his efforts and occasional outreach to park authorities, the trash problem persists. But Wile remains undeterred in his mission, finding joy in the daily routine, greeting fellow park-goers, and doing his part to keep the popular nature preserve clean.
The diligence Wile shows in cleaning the park springs from a lifetime of active living, underscored by multiple gold medals at the Northern Virginia Senior Olympics.
“I did very well there,” he said.
Though Wile is not able to compete anymore, he hasn’t slowed down. Every day, he’s out in the park, not just for his own health, but to keep it a cherished and welcoming spot for everyone who visits.
