By Ava Azar
When I first heard about the California Coastal Cleanup Day that took place in September from Mrs.Chang at GreenTown Los Altos, I got excited to team up with some of my classmates to participate in a creek cleanup.
On September 16th, Jennifer, Diego, Levi and I, who are current 8th graders at St.Nicholas School, participated in a Creek Cleanup at Adobe Creek. The portion of the creek that we cleaned lies on the border between Los Altos and Palo Alto going under El Camino Real. We learned that trash can travel through storm drains to creeks and rivers, ultimately contributing to the bay pollution, which eventually ends up in the ocean.
In two hours the four of us, along with our parents, diligently picked up any litter we encountered, covering a distance of about 0.8 miles. Our efforts resulted in the removal of an astounding 99.49 pounds of waste!
Talking with my classmates afterwards, we all agreed that we had a great time and felt an immense sense of accomplishment knowing that our efforts had contributed to the prevention of many pounds of trash from polluting the ocean. After the cleanup, we all felt empowered to seek other opportunities to make an impact in our local community, and maybe one day, on a global level.
GreenTown Los Altos adopted Adobe Creek through Valley Water's Adopt-A-Creek program, fostering community involvement in creek and watershed protection.