I served the community by cleaning up trash and debris in the Temescal Wash.

Temescal Wash Basin, Corona, CA.

On Saturday, October 22nd.

I was given the responsibility of cleaning up trash in the surrounding area and disposing of it in an environmentally friendly and safe manner.

Mr. Pitts!

From 8:00 a.m. to 12:00, a total of four hours.

I learned a great deal from this experience. I had no idea that the Temescal Wash was filled with so much garbage! The surrounding plants were choked with debris, and the ground was fairly carpeted with wrappers and similar waste. I feel that our group was successful in clearing a vast majority of the trash, and ultimately raised environmental awareness amongst not only the members of the community, but ourselves. I feel very privileged to have participated in this unique opportunity.

The event was hosted by the Corona Department of Water and Power.

Ken Pitts - Santiago High School

2011-10-22

2011-10-22

4 hours

I filled several trash bags with the garbage and debris from the Temescal Wash. Any trash present was disposed of in a more environmentally friendly way. Wrappers, bottles, plastic bags, tires, grocery carts, discarded clothing, etc. were collected and deposited in a waste management bin.

I filled six large trash bags full of garbage and disposed of them. In addition to this, Claire and I rid of a tire and helped to dig up two buried grocery carts.

I learned of the impact of littering on the ecosystem. The Wash was choked with debris and trash to a magnitude that I found absolutely astounding. I also became aware of how slowly trash degrades; there were layers upon layers of garbage that had not broken down. All in all, this experience really opened my eyes to how serious the problem of littering and improper disposal of trash is upon the environment.

Temescal Wash located on Auburndale Road, just north of West Rincon Road

Over four tons of trash and debris were collected by the volunteers and City crews from the Public Works Department and the Department of Water & Power. The most common items retrieved were plastic bags, food wrappers and containers, used tires and tarps. This event has a direct, positive impact on local watersheds, such as the Prado Basin and the Santa Ana Watershed, and native wildlife. Not only are local areas improved, since these waterways flow to our beaches and coastal waters, everyone downstream benefits too. Clean-up events such as these build a sense of environmental stewardship in our community.