CLEAN & GREEN RIVER CLEANUP

zmartian
Sep 19, 2016
2 min read

Nine months ago I made myself a promise, as the the clock struck midnight and people cheered to the new year: I would put effort into recognizing how I affect the earth and I would start participating in efforts to preserve it. Unlike so many other broken New Years Resolutions, this one I am determined to keep. In this effort, I found myself at the San Diego River Park Foundation.

My first event was a San Diego River cleanup. Coordinating for the event was simple- I looked on the SDRPF calendar, found an event I could attend, then emailed info@sandiegoriver.org to RSVP. They emailed me back within a few days with directions to the event and parking information.

The cleanup was easy to find, and volunteers in the lot directed me where to park. They had set up tents with wavier forms, chewy bars, and fliers. Next to the tents were all the supplies we needed - water, gloves, trash bags, trash pickers, and shears (though I'm not sure for what). The group had around 50 people and was broken into two groups. Each group took on an abandoned homeless encampment. The space was surprisingly big and obviously abandoned. To find trash, you had to sift through the leave and dirt a bit and push through some spiderwebs. It amazed me what we found there. Along with old wrappers and water bottles, we found tons of trinkets, suitcases, and strange items, like a inflatable rubber pink horse. There were tons of spices, salts, and cosmetics. Clothes were nestled under roots and long carpets, that were likely used as beds, were hidden under a blanket of dead leaves. Some things were buried so deep in the group we had to hack at them with rocks, and some would even come out then. Cleaning the area took about an hour and a half. As we finished up this, a few of us tackled the harder part - hauling the trash bags from the encampment, back up the hill to the trail, then to the trash can. It is easier said than done. All trash bags were filled to the top, so they weren't light. Regardless, we survived, even if we were left a bit out of breath.

The day ended with a weird item contest. If strange items were found when cleaning, you would bring them back to base at the end and everyone voted on which item was the weirdest. The winner got two kayaking tickets. There were several items, including the pink horse, and some torn out wall insulation. Of course, the pink horse won. We took a photo to document all the trash we had found and headed out. The day totaled to 3 hours of rewarding community service and a chocolate chip chewy bar that hit the spot.