A walk along the San Diego River delivers breathtaking and peaceful views. However, a walk deeper into the reeds and brush surrounding the river reveal a more unpleasant and polluted view.
“This is trash that was carried to this location by water,” said Sarah Hutmacher while standing near a floating pile of trash.
That’s why Hutmacher and the San Diego River Park Foundation are teaming with Think Blue San Diego and dozens of volunteers Saturday morning for the annual Great River Cleanup. SDRPF volunteers collected roughly 200,000 pounds of trash from the river last year. They’re looking to add to that total until there’s nothing left to clean up.
“I think seeing this mess and knowing that we're taking action to clean it up makes me feel amazing,” said field river associate Nikki Mercer.
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On Friday, Mercer was part of a river assessment field team that was mapping trash to be picked up Saturday.
“When you see this (trash), it's all you can see,” sighed Hutmacher, the foundation’s chief operating officer. “We work along the entire river from Julian all the way to the ocean.”
That’s where the trash will go if it isn’t cleaned out of the river first. Hutmacher said they’re attacking it now before the heavier winter rains arrive and push the trash to the ocean.
The work is always ongoing. This week, the city of San Diego removed several homeless encampments with the SDRPF’s assistance. The encampments and carelessness upstream are the source of most of the pollution. The Great River Cleanup looks to stop it.
“It's just really good to be part of an organization that is proactive,” smiled Mercer.
The San Diego River Park Foundation is still looking for volunteers and people with kayaks to help Saturday morning.
