Tidy Up Your Neck of the Woods and Tell us About It!
Just this week, the weather cooled and fall was in the air. Sycamore leaves litter the wilderness floor and the white buckwheat flowers are turning a very autumn-y red-brown. Orb Weaver Spider webs are easier to spot, now that the morning dew is back to drape them with moisture.
But it isn’t only leaves that litter the trails these days. Now there are masks and gloves strewn among the vegetation. So, we’re mounting a virtual trash pick up this weekend to address the mess and we want you to join us!
COVID-19 has required that we suspend so many of our shared activities. This is particularly challenging during the fall when many of our programs would normally begin again. In any other year, October would mean hiking several times a week with elementary school students and scheduling our “Keep It Wild” events to restore the native habitat with volunteers. Our volunteer-led hikes and rides would be in full swing. We’d be working on trail maintenance and hosting trash pick-ups with corporate groups.
I miss those amazing and unique times on the trails with the students when the sound of woodpecker’s tapping on a tree signals me to tell the children to look up and see the little redheaded bird busily storing an acorn. Or, if only for a minute, we are fortunate enough to see a mule deer or a snake. These are immediate and wonderful teaching moments. As the children experience the wilderness, they understand that this land is home to a variety of plants and animals. They learn how to protect this habitat by never taking anything from it, not even a rock or ever leaving trash.
In fact, they learn that if they pick up trash – anywhere – on the trails or in their neighborhoods, they are helping preserve and protect the wilderness, the watersheds and the oceans. They are becoming conservationists.
In today’s COVID-19 world, Laguna Canyon Foundation is extremely limited on leading volunteer and educational events, which, again, is why we are hosting – this weekend, October 24 and 25 – a “virtual” trash pick-up. The actual trash pick-up, of course, won’t be virtual, but our togetherness will be as dozens of participants focus on cleaning up their neighborhoods, parks, beaches and trails – separately, but united in their passion for taking care of Mother Earth. We’ll have scavenger hunts, prizes and there will be ways you can report to us the trash you’ve safely collected. Together, we can make a difference and have some fun in the process.
So many hikers, bikers, students and volunteers have asked how they can help, how they can get involved during COVID-19. We appreciate your passion and hope you will join us this weekend. Simply start where you are.
Download our flyer for details and follow us on Instagram to share your trashy stories with us.