By Philip Bair
Beautiful weather has been a promising trend lately, and it has also ushered in more cleanup opportunities along Coyote Creek. As the water level continues to recede following some of the heaviest rainfall we’ve had in years, accessibility along the banks of the creek has improved tenfold. As a result, volunteers have finally been able to close in to remove large debris blocking the flow of the creek as well as bits of trash littering the tree branches above the water. The sheer quantity of the plastics caught in the tree branches was a sight to behold and, although they were seemingly out of reach, our newly-acquired pick-up sticks made quick work of all that hard-to-reach litter. Measuring ten feet in length, these pick-up sticks are a new addition to our toolkit, and were invaluable in allowing us to pick up trash without venturing too close to the water, where unstable ground makes for treacherous footwork.
However, the real stars of this cleanup were the over one-hundred motivated and hardworking volunteers that came out early on this brisk Saturday morning. We were also joined by Mayor Sam Liccardo and Council member Tam Nguyen, who worked side-by-side with our group of volunteers to help pick up nearly three tons of trash! Although it is unfortunate that we continue to see such a large volume of trash coming through our waterways, it is important to see it in a positive light that we, as a team, are continuing to keep Coyote Creek beautiful.
A great thanks to all of you, our volunteers, for all the tremendous work that you do! Hope to see you next time!