Elise M. 

Girl Report

On Saturday of the thirteenth day of September, an event known as Keep Riverside Clean was held.  Being the 22nd time the event occurred, it had quite a following. Over five hundred people decided to participate in the event, many who’ve returned. This brought those people closer together in a way that was truly incredible – they were able to bond through cleaning their environment. Without the volunteers working on this event, it most certainly wouldn’t have happened. Many organizations and corporations were also the keys to such a successful event. SoCalGas, Western Municipal Water District, Riverside Flood Control and Water Conservation District, Riverside County Watershed Protection, Riverside County Sheriff, Rivers and Lands Conservancy, Inland Empire’s Water Keepers, Farmer Boys, Boy Scout troop 2, and Starbucks, were all event partners and helped sew the occasion together. They all supported the event by providing food, drinks, and other materials.
According to the organizer of the event, Connie, the people who help operate the event do so to help the community. Connie expressed how important it was to keep the river clean for future generations. In 1992, the vision turned into reality and it was soon made into an annual event. Every year is meant to be a positive experience and the volunteers who I talked with, can confirm this. Levi and Karen had their first experience with the program this year and really enjoyed it.  They want to participate in the occasion again, seeing as they had a positive experience.

Some interviewees came back to this program due to the ecstatic atmosphere. Elizabeth, Kianna, Michelle, and Kaelynn all enjoyed helping out the community. The adults believe that bringing the kids at such a young age will help them realize that the community could be improved. They’ve been doing this activity for about five years! The children enjoyed their first year at the event and would enjoy repeating the experience in years to come.

The participants in this year’s events all began the event at 8:45 and concluded their adventures at 12. Together, they cleaned the community and bonded with those who they loved, and even those whom they just met. Most of the volunteers agreed on one thing, they didn’t want the animals to suffer due to human’s selfish actions. Leaving our trash could end up destroying habitats, and eventually lead to certain species extinction.

These animals may include many salmon species, kangaroo rats, and even our countries mascot, the bald eagle but our list continues, and us humans are the cause of it. That’s why the volunteers do it, they wish to save the animals that may be affected. Cleaning the trash from simple places, such as a park, may prevent these animals from going extinct. By removing it before it goes into our lakes, rivers, and oceans, we might avoid hazardous waste.