Yesterday I participated in the Visalia City Earth Day Mill Creek cleanup activity. For those of you who know Visalia, the meetup was at the corner of Lovers Lane and Mill Creek. A good turnout of probably 150 people showed up.
I got to see my good friends Louie Campos, Mary Ann Bringhurst and City Councilman Greg Collins, among others, and work with them for a good cause. We pulled many tons of detritus out of the creek bed, including mattresses, shopping carts, a satellite dish, bottles, PVC pipe, lumber, a good heavy chain, and lots of tires. Nearly a mile of the creek was cleared. Meanwhile, others were busy spreading mulch, clearing out invasive plant species such as bamboo, and going to another location on Riggin St. near the St. Johns River to plant trees and shrubs.
The city had commemorative green shirts for participants, as well as water, gloves and plenty of tools. There were even sandwiches, contributed by Subway, for those who stayed until noon. Click here to read a story on Visalia conservation programs.
At one point I remarked to Louie how surprising it was to find so much trash and junk thrown into a natural watercourse. He said that what amazed him was how quickly a group of concerned citizens could restore a natural setting to attractiveness when they showed up in force with a readiness to work.
It felt good to be a part of this activity. I felt like I did something wholesome and worthwhile on my Sunday morning after church. I guess it's representative of life in general. A lot of people each doing a little can make a difference and the world a better place!
3 comments:
Wish I could have made it, Great job to you all.
One of the things that my hobby Geocaching promotes is CITO events. Cache in, Trash Out. The Geocaching community is trying to make it well known that we're not just a bunch of techno geeks going around finding stuff. We try to help our local communities out by having events like this on a regular basis to do what you did for this creek area. Well done.
Excellent, Paul!
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