This morning’s cleanup endeavor resulted in the largest mass of abandoned trash yet recovered from the UU mile of the American River Parkway by a UU crew. Our very hard-working group of volunteers included Deirdre Downes, Patrica Pratt, David Paul and, in the photo below, ten more individuals who were able to extend their time to meet the unusually difficult task at hand. These included, from right: Bill Hardy, Clair Urness, Lloyd Crockford, Margaret Licha, Eric Ross, Bobbie Keill, Tamara Olson, Gary Keill, Roger Olson, and Dave Dawson.

As the winter rains and possible flooding of the UU mile area approach, it’s rewarding to know that what our crew recovered will not be swept into the river or become buried in the river plain. What we recovered, however, is also a sad reminder of the extreme problems of the homeless individuals who camp on the Parkway, and the problems to the larger community that result from a lack of satisfactory alternatives for those people.

It was a thought-provoking, tough job well done this morning. I’m deeply grateful to our crew.

Dave