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Registration is now open for the April 23 Washington Coast Cleanup, visit www.coastsavers.org and sign up today!
If you'd like to join footsore311 and I, please let us know. Several members of our cleanup group will be out of state during this spring cleanup. We'd welcome additional help hauling marine debris from the beach - plus, it's a great excuse to go backpacking at the coast!
Not up for an overnighter? No problem! There are over fifty beaches to pick from and many have easy access!
I recently spent a few days along Washington's northern coast participating in the International Coastal Cleanup. I met with an intern from Olympic National Park early Friday morning in Port Angeles. She provided me with lots of bags (I expected the company of friends, alas no one could join me), a bright green "Beach Cleanup" vest (it was cotton, I didn't take due to rain), and a NPS radio (to relay information as needed and due to my prior involvement with cleanup events).
As is often the case, rain greeted me just west of Lake Crescent. Full rain gear would be my attire for the next few days. Arriving at Sand Point I discovered there was a group already camped at the point. I had considered this a possibility but had not given much thought to alternate campsites. Without much hesitation, I backtracked and worked my way out to the beach where I discovered the small site just to the north of the point was available. With a break in the rain, I quickly went about setting up camp. I gathered water from Wish Creek, which I was happy to see flowing well.
With camp set up and the rain not pounding down I wandered south to pick up debris and beachcomb. No treasures found this year. Had a couple odd finds - such as a toilet seat and an arm chair at the mouth of Wish Creek (unable to carry this out). Beyond that a never ending supply of plastics. By aid of a driftwood stick I hauled my bags of debris back to camp. I spent the evening beachcombing to the north with umbrella over head.
After a night of rain, morning was equally wet. I had little desire to try and strap bags of debris on my external frame backpack in the rain. I must hang a tarp. Unfortunately, my campsite tucked amid the tall salal didn't offer a wide range of tarp hanging opportunities.
Nevertheless, I considered my options. There was a jumble of driftwood logs and wave-worn timbers in camp. As the rain fell, I attempted to construct a lean to of sorts. As my hand grasped one of the logs, a horrific event ensued. Poop on my hand. Human poop. I dropped the log and stared at my hand. In the brief seconds before I went about cleaning my hand - first on salal then in a nearby puddle - great disappointment left me shaking my head.
Who does this!? Who is so lazy that they can't use the nearby privy? And, if you simply can't get to the privy, who is so lazy they cannot properly, excuse me, shit in the woods? This disappointment caused me to think of a whole host of things that disappoint me about those who wander into the wilderness uneducated and uncaring. I will save that rant for another time.
After Purell-ing my hands - twice - I ditched my previous lean-to effort and strung a rope across the two trees that fronted my campsite. I awkwardly attached my tarp, making several adjustments before complete. It wasn't that pretty, but it gave me a spot out of the rain to work on attaching debris to my pack.
Without company to distract me, the "worry about everything" part of my mind ran rampant on the hike back to the trailhead. Questions like, "What diseases can I catch from someone else's poop?" filled my head. Or, "Oh, no. I have a slight puncture in the skin on my other hand. Do you think when I washed BOTH of my hands in the puddle I contaminated my other hand with possible disease?"
Thankfully, a kind and familiar face greeted me at the check-in station which brought a smile back to my face. After unloading my haul into a nearby dumpster, I noted a large group of people in the parking lot. As I saw the coolers, beer and surfboards I simultaneously thought two things: I bet they're a fun group and I'm going to have noisy neighbors this evening (the group at the point had departed).
I made quick time getting back to my camp. And, to my surprise, the site at the point had already been taken by a group of three. It seemed a safe bet that the big group would be camping elsewhere. The evening proved relaxing, thanks to my tarp. I sat watching the waves, birds and clouds while waving at passing hikers.
The following morning I enjoyed coffee and breakfast before packing up all my wet gear. I opted to walk the beach back to the start of the inland trail. As I neared the path, the rain became a drizzle and I allowed myself to beachcomb prior to hiking back to the trailhead. It was a relaxing way to end my trip.
I'm endlessly drawn to the sea and I'm endlessly thankful for my time spent near water's edge (yes, even when I get handfuls of things unwanted). I've been participating in coastal cleanup events for many years now (since 2006) and in the last few years I've made it a priority to volunteer for both the spring Washington Coast Cleanup and fall International Coastal Cleanup. I feel lucky that I've been able to do this. It's highly rewarding to give back to an area that you love and an area that has given me so much.
Mark your calendars: Saturday, April 23, 2016 will be Washington Coast Cleanup.
A recent entry into our camera club set subject competiiton - 'People at Work'. This caused a little controversy for some as they said there were no people in it!
This was midway through cleanup in my Bratz room three years ago. Just found the pics and thought it'd be fun to upload them.
I was glad to see the garbage picked up from our property too; we haven't officially paid, but was hoping they weren't keeping track as long as we put out the bins and it just happened to be garbage day. Much of this project has been lucky that way.
Photos taken for work of the cleanup effort underway at Hoover High School and Meredith Middle School after severe thunderstorm. Hail the size of golf balls and larger damaged the roof of the campus, causing water damage throughout the schools.
Semi-annual cleanup in the garage. Reorganized, picked up, lots thrown out. Will be racking and oaking the Syrah and Carmenere tomorrow. Always feels good when it's picked up.
Several Harrisburg Students participated in flood clean up effort run by the Lend-A-Hand program on Friday, September 30th. The clean up took place in Hershey from 9 a.m. until late in the afternoon. The group from Widener assisted in removing paneling and ceiling tiles from a flooded house that dated back to the 1700’s. Students were provided with rubber boots, masks and gloves.
Third year student Matthew Dorry said, “It was a great experience to work with members of the community struggling to recover from the recent flooding. The event went very well. We tore down the basement interior quickly so the homeowner can obtain contractors to start rebuilding. Lend-A-Hand was a great opportunity for Widener students like us to assist others who need help.”
Groups are continuing to be arranged. If you are interested in helping out, please contact Nicole Radziewicz at nradz704@live.kutztown.edu or Kristin Potter at kmpotter60@gmail.com. Sign-Up sheets are also available on TWEN.
This picture was taken during our walk around Selebarum Kampung, a village built upon stilts within the city of Kota Kinabalu of Sabah, Malaysia.
We do a lot of positive redirection with our sheltie to control her barking reactions to various stimuli.
If she hears a dog barking outside my house while I'm in my office it used to be that her first reaction was to bark immediately in response, sometimes in quite a fit of spinning, jumping and excitement. While this is definitely something shelties love todo (bark) it is fairly counterproductive to me being a telecommuter as well as my general sanity.
so I always have a tray of treats on my desk and any time I hear a dog bark, doorbell ring or anything else that sets her off I immediately treat and redirect her attention to me. Thankfully I've got to the point where she actually doesn't bark and instead looks to me first to see if she is doing the right thing (and that I'm going to give her a treat for being quiet).
It has helped cut down on the 'oh sh*t' moments where she barks so suddenly and loudly that my heart almost stops beating. She also can recover if she does start barking and will come over and sit down next to me awaiting instructions.
Here we see her cleaning up the crumbs on the chair-mat in my office after the UPS guy showed up making sure everything is was the way it should be (in her mouth).
Crews have been working around the clock since Saturday to clean the city streets. - Washington, D.C. via 500px ift.tt/1Vqctba
These workers in neck-to-toes hazmat suits, walked up and down the beach, bent over, picking up tiny balls of jelly-like oil, which they deposited in big plastic bags they dragged behind them.
There’s a reason we try to host our last cleanup of the season on our home stretch of river and this cleanup certainly reminded us why. Our mid-MO cleanups always bring together some of our favorite river-lovin’ people and the support from our local community is always unmatched. To top it off, we hosted this last cleanup out of one of our favorite areas along the river, Wilson’s Serenity Point at Noren Access, a tribute to great river heroes Joe Wilson, Tom Halfen, Ernest “Richard” Lovell and Walter Birmingham. We know we made them proud by bringing together 229 volunteers to help us remove 109 bags of trash, 33 tires and a huge load of scrap metal from the banks of the Missouri River.
Photo by Phil Knocke
To see the full story, event results and more visit: riverrelief.org/event/jefferson-city-missouri-river-clean...