Mary Beth's mission: Clean up Kern County!

In a perfect world, no one would throw trash in the street or pile up junk in vacant fields or despoil buildings with graffiti.

There's no perfect world, but there is Mary Beth Garrison.

Garrison is director of the non-profit COMMUNITY CLEAN SWEEP, whose mission is to rid Kern County of piles of debris, junk and trash. Her passion is cleaning up the detritus that other people leave behind – and teaching those same people to be environmentally considerate.

She is passionate about teaching people – especially youngsters – to respect their surroundings and to never, ever leave junk around for other people to clean up.

In conjunction with the Kern County Waste Management Department, Garrison brings her own irresistible brand of activism to the table, visiting 24 schools a year with her stable of bilingual puppets that raise children's awareness.

Through the years, Garrison, the former manager of the Stallion Springs Community Services District and deputy to former Kern County Supervisor Don Maben, has participated in the removal of 5,000 tons of illegally dumped material.

"It's the only 501(c3) allowed in schools," Garrison said of COMMUNITY CLEAN SWEEP in her presentation at the Kiwanis Club of Tehachapi at the club's Feb. 18 luncheon meeting at Pacino's Restaurant. "We started the puppet show program in 1999. The kids are the performers."

She uses a snake, dragon, bulldog and other puppets to engage the youngsters.

In the down and dirty aspect of what she does, Garrison has notched