One of the ongoing problems of the Natural Areas that we wish the SF RPD would address is trash-dumping.  Meanwhile, SFForest volunteers are trying to help.

GLEN CANYON’S 5-YEAR OLD TRASH

In Glen Canyon below O’Shaughnessy, where it is intersected by Del Vale, there’s trash that’s been littering the slope for over five years. Our volunteers decided to do something about it, even to the extent of getting into poison oak. Here’s one report:

“We spent two hours climbing up the steep slope like a mountain goat, and picked up, among other things, about 8 huge squares of styrofoam, huge pieces of cardboard and plywood, 35 bottles — some very large and some broken, a toaster, 7 hubcaps, garden hoses, pipes, a floor lamp, an oven door, decomposed magazines, old clothing, crumpled up newspapers, plastic bags, paint buckets, plastic cups and containers, etc. ”

“The picture of the day’s haul doesn’t look big, but it is. I called 311 to have the city haul it away. Now, you can look over there, and it doesn’t look like a dump.”

The slope is certainly looking much better – green and clear, not littered with visible garbage. Still, the job’s not finished, the volunteer continues:

“But there is more to take out — feel free to go over there if you want — every 10 minutes will help. And there is stuff for larger guys to remove: old tires, a car hood, a grocery cart.”

Earlier, our volunteers have participated in – or undertaken – trash removal at other parks like McLaren, Lake Merced, and Mt Davidson. We hope to make this a regular activity for SFForest volunteers.

Meanwhile, we routinely pick up and dispose of trash we encounter as we use the parks. We invite our supporters to do that, too.