I spent the cool and damp morning of Oct. 26 planting gardens and cleaning up trash for National Make a Difference Day, sponsored by Keep Cincinnati Beautiful.

Muddy and wet, I felt empowered making a difference. Cars honked, people waved their appreciation.

Our garden club has a group of volunteers who pick up trash every Tuesday in College Hill. Last week, one of the members noticed a young man throwing down trash near her.

"Would you mind picking that up, please? We're all working together to spruce up the neighborhood," she said.

"Why don't you pick it up, you (expletive, expletive)?" he replied.

Another friend lives just off Glenview Avenue. Continuously, trash is thrown onto the edge of the woodland - appliances, furniture, bags of debris litter the beautiful hillside.

Bill Pellman of College Hill got so tired of people illegally dumping trash near his woods that he carries a phone number in his truck to report illegal dumping.

If you see someone committing this crime, take down the person's license plate number, a description of the vehicle, date and time and a description of the person, if possible. Report the illegal dumping to 564-1750.

Cincinnati has a $500 fine for illegal dumping, but City Council is considering increasing the fine to $1,000. State littering fines are up to $25,000 and include impounding the vehicle.

Encourage City Council members to change our laws and the ways littering is perceived by the police.

"If our police officers are ticketing for jaywalking, (which) does not leave a mark, why aren't they ticketing people for littering offenses?" asks Linda Holterhoff, executive director of Keep Cincinnati Beautiful.

Don't forget recycling; it makes a difference. In addition to regular recycling services, Keep Cincinnati Beautiful's "Beyond the Recycling Bin" program offers drop-off sites in College Hill and Western Hills for mixed-use paper (cardboard boxes, junk mail, magazines). Call 352-4380 for more information.

In addition, compost food scraps or use a worm bin. Gardener Ron Falk of College Hill finds after recycling and composting, the weekly trash his family produces has been reduced to one grocery-size paper bag.

"I want to do what I can to save the Earth from more pollution," he says. "When you look at the mounds of waste we create, you have to start somewhere."

Contact Peg St. Clair by phone: 541-4680; Web site: www.gardenersnetwork.org.