Being a Part of Team 222
By Deb Kramer
On the second Saturday of the second month, up to 100 people come out at multiple locations along Los Gatos Creek to remove trash from it for 2 hours. Hence the Friends of Los Gatos Creek’s Team 222. This model was designed by Steve Holmes, who has been hosting these cleanups for the past 2 years and just reached their 100 ton milestone!
Having attended a few of these events, I got a firsthand look at how it works. The sites I’ve been at had a variety of people from ages 3 to over 60. They work hard for a couple of hours, hauling out about 1/3 ton of trash in about 20-30 bags, plus large loose items, such as automobile parts, an ATM machine, and the ubiquitous shopping cart. See their Facebook page of some photos of the cleanup I attended in July.
As a partner organization, we’ve been able to share best practices, enrich our programs by cross sharing volunteers, and collaborate on projects, such as brainstorming about how to engage more companies in our programs. This type of collaboration makes all of us working on watershed issues stronger, and I am happy to be a part of it.
Watch the video below to commemorate the 100 ton accomplishment.