Yesterday Youki & I hopped on BART so we could join up with Lorraine Palmer and the Sea Scavenger Conservancy for their monthly industrial shoreline cleanup. We were expecting to be down on the rocks with our toes almost dangling in the water by Mission Bay or further south, but yesterday the schedule brought us to the stretch of the Embarcadero between Pier 40 and the Bay Bridge--"from plate to gate", as Lorraine said.
We could try to report back on every bottle cap and cigarette butt, every plastic wrapper and empty chip bag, every bottle of booze and torn piece of fabric, every lone shoe and single-use dental floss--and so on and so forth--that we picked off the ground and put into the big lined malt bags that SSC uses for picking. Actually, these bags are worth a post by themselves--they're perfect! Easy to carry, tough, big, and as Lorraine showed us, having a liner lets you keep the occasional little treasure separate when you don't want to toss it in along with the rest. And you'll find lots of little treasures when you're out on the pick long enough.
Yup, we could report on that stuff. And sure, hopefully we did help keep a few (dozen) pounds of plastic and other junk out of the SF bay. One thing we definitely did was to meet some cool regular volunteers and others who were just discovering the joys of picking after signing up through the volunteer placement organization, One Brick. Those little things--and for us the mini talkin' trash team getting joined by Hsinyu who BARTed over from Berkeley in the middle of the pick--give you inspiration, and help you learn about the place you're in too.
Yeah, we could try to report on everything. But after looking at the bay, and the ocean, while you put one little piece of trash after the other into your bag, it's also pretty easy to feel overwhelmed. It's too much for a few pickers, or ten, or even a hundred to do. How, I've been wondering since yesterday, inspired by the spirit of all the volunteers, do you not only amplify the efforts you're making (getting more and more people interested, picking up more and more trash), but also to make efforts that take place in one place in one time by one group of people stand up and speak further, longer, and with another audience? Even after the wind has picked up and the empty chip bags over there blow back onto the sidewalk we just cleaned....
Here's one idea. Try clicking on the blue lines and the little colored pushpins on the map below. See the half mile along the Embarcadero where all the Sea Scavenger Conservancy volunteers picked bags of stuff off the streets, out of fences and bushes? See the picture of the mystery schedule that Zack guessed was for training truck drivers? See the sewer cover where I tried to fish out some paper and plastic (luckily didn't lose the stick down there, whew)? See all the places where more pins could be added, telling the stories and showing the sights? If you were on the pick, and heck, even if you weren't, you can add to this map too...click it...go there...drop a pin...make it grow...
View Sea Scavenger Conservancy 5/12/12 Embarcadero pick in a larger map
We could try to report back on every bottle cap and cigarette butt, every plastic wrapper and empty chip bag, every bottle of booze and torn piece of fabric, every lone shoe and single-use dental floss--and so on and so forth--that we picked off the ground and put into the big lined malt bags that SSC uses for picking. Actually, these bags are worth a post by themselves--they're perfect! Easy to carry, tough, big, and as Lorraine showed us, having a liner lets you keep the occasional little treasure separate when you don't want to toss it in along with the rest. And you'll find lots of little treasures when you're out on the pick long enough.Yup, we could report on that stuff. And sure, hopefully we did help keep a few (dozen) pounds of plastic and other junk out of the SF bay. One thing we definitely did was to meet some cool regular volunteers and others who were just discovering the joys of picking after signing up through the volunteer placement organization, One Brick. Those little things--and for us the mini talkin' trash team getting joined by Hsinyu who BARTed over from Berkeley in the middle of the pick--give you inspiration, and help you learn about the place you're in too.
Here's one idea. Try clicking on the blue lines and the little colored pushpins on the map below. See the half mile along the Embarcadero where all the Sea Scavenger Conservancy volunteers picked bags of stuff off the streets, out of fences and bushes? See the picture of the mystery schedule that Zack guessed was for training truck drivers? See the sewer cover where I tried to fish out some paper and plastic (luckily didn't lose the stick down there, whew)? See all the places where more pins could be added, telling the stories and showing the sights? If you were on the pick, and heck, even if you weren't, you can add to this map too...click it...go there...drop a pin...make it grow...
View Sea Scavenger Conservancy 5/12/12 Embarcadero pick in a larger map
That was a great pick. It was interesting seeing the impact that urban development has when it's so close to the shore -- there's so much more trash that goes from the street into the bay.
ReplyDeleteYeah it really makes you wonder. I'm curious about the different kinds of trash that you find right there on the rocks, on the water though. I remember Lorraine talking about the occasional needle, and somehow I imagine there being more plastics and cans on the water than you normally find on the streets a block away. False impression?
ReplyDeleteI saw less food containers. It seems that the downtown areas have a higher density of fast food restaurants, and a lot of their food containers make it to the street. The shoreline areas have nicer restaurants and probably do a better job keeping their sidewalks clean. Maybe it was different on your side, though, I kinda remember seeing more cafes on your side of the street, so maybe you saw plenty of plastic cups.
ReplyDeleteThis calls for an in-depth statistical analysis. Where's Eugene when you need him? ;-)
ReplyDeleteIt is true what we have discovered about trash/litter/debris that we have come across in our adventures/travel/travails...each neighborhood has its own personal trash litter profile in regards to many factors such as income/education/location/natural environment/types of development occurring etc... this clean up the earth job will take more than a village to clean it all up...that's what i'm thinking...good job on your work there! thank you!
ReplyDelete