The Great American River Cleanup

This past Saturday, September 17th, Kathleen and I participated, along with over 2300 other volunteers, in the Great American River Cleanup. We helped in the area along the bikeway between the start point at REI , Cal Expo store, and moved west along the south side of the bike trail to the Northgate Blvd. crossing. The area along the bike trail and 50 to 100 yards to the south of the bike trail was quite clean until we got closer to the Northgate Blvd. crossing. We were advised by the area coordinators to stay clear of any active homeless camps and if the camp looks abandoned to proceed with caution because of the potential of coming into contact with drug related material. We saw several abandoned camps and cleaned up around them but stayed away from the main gathering area. We also came across what appeared to be active camps. We just kept on walking! The camps, both abandoned and active, were littered with all sorts of debris.

I have a great deal of respect for the park rangers and the law enforcement officials who deal with the campers on a daily basis. It is unfortunate that the people who use the parkway as a camp site don’t show more respect for the parkway environment.

We volunteered about 2 1/2 hours and were busy picking up trash during that time. This was our first experience with the Great American River Cleanup day. We will definitely participate again, it felt very good knowing that our efforts along with many other volunteers made the parkway a much cleaner and better place. What an impact a coordinated effort of volunteers can produce. No government program or policy, just regular people who are concerned enough about one of the greatest assets in our community. It was a very worthwhile experience!!