From Kayaking to Cleaning

As someone who has kayaked and cleaned the L.A. River before it always shocks me the amount of trash (mainly plastic) that collect along the riverbed.  Since the "ban" on plastic bags there are less shopping bags in the river but the amount of plastic from food and other products remains consistent.  One reason I believe the river is home to so much trash is that very few L.A. natives are aware of the state of the river and that it actually functions like a river.  While not all of the trash comes from the city a large portion of the trash comes from street drainage that leads to the river and ultimately the ocean.  While we see "No Dumping" signs every day if you don't see where the trash goes it is merely a suggestion instead of a rule to most people.

Some changes that I have seen in the past years include the number of homeless encampments along the river.  I started doing the clean up when I was in elementary school nearly ten years ago.  Although I have not gone every year I have seen an increase in the number of homeless encampments in the river and it is a sad reminder of the poverty in L.A.  I've also seen positive changes at the river.  Since my family started doing the cleanup I have seen more wildlife and vegetation in the river and when we kayaked down sections of the river a few years ago I noticed that many fish and birds have returned to the river.  Another change, and perhaps the best one, I have seen is the amount of people that attend the river clean up.  FOLAR has done an amazing job of organizing the clean up and providing materials to all the participants.  I have at least five FOLAR t-shirts and can remember years when I was able to take two since the attendance was low.  This year the clean up was packed and it was nice to see so many people from different companies and backgrounds come together and do something good for the community.

To sum it all up the FOLAR river clean up is always a good opportunity to see a new side of L.A. and give back to the community.  The river clean up really opens your eyes to magnitude and diversity of the city and is a great way to get involved without traveling too far.

A New River Experience

I commonly referred to the LA River as the LA trickle, not realizing the ecological and cultural significance the river had and has for my community, and what I could learn from a trash cleanup of the LA River. Unfortunately, I didn't get to stay at FOLAR very long, but I certainly enjoyed the time I did and learned quite a bit.

When I got there, it was already starting to heat up, and despite remembering to bring my sunglasses, I regretted not bringing my hat along. I joined up with my class, and after receiving gloves and bags, we set out to rid the river of trash, thereby cleaning it. Because of our class' special art focus, we also had a separate, smaller trash bag, this one used for "cool trash" that we found––interesting pieces of trash that could be used for our final piece of group artwork. More than just finding a binary distinction between trash and cool trash, even the trash I put in the bag to throw away was interesting. Every piece of trash offers a glimpse into someone's life: the handle of a pink stroller, decomposing under a bunch of leaves; the head of a flashlight (this one did go to the cool trash pile, however); a torn dress that might once have been beautiful. It allows us to experience what it's like to have this quasi-voyeuristic, amateurish anthropological gaze that sees into alternative realities that we simply cannot experience. There are a few things that the average human being simply cannot comprehend: absolute nothingness, as in, what the universe was like before it came into existence in any manner that you so choose to believe, and someone else's reality. Someone may be able to come close, imagining something clear extending on forever but there is no light and there is nothing; absolutely nothing at all. Or, empathy, trying to be collectively humanistic as possible and join into one reality, so that two people feel the same thing. But look into someone's eyes, and try to imagine how they're saying you. Or ask someone to look at a color that you're looking, but think to yourself "they see this color differently than I do." No matter how close you are to them, you will feel some form of alienation and realization that you cannot truly experience what someone else's reality is like. Finding people's trash is finding a way to circumvent the existential barrier between you and someone else's reality.

I also really loved learning firsthand about the actual ecology and green that the LA River is, and how, despite being encased in a concrete block, it's quite beautiful, introspective trash thinking was really my main takeaway. That was my experience and my evolution of thought as I picked up new, old, dirty, clean, and everything in between of trash.

L.A. River

FOLAR Cleanup 2017

Though I was not excited to wake up at 8am for the cleanup, I was actually excited to see the L.A. River. I classify myself as the "person" who drives over the L.A. River without acknowledging its existence. However, it surprised me that there was barely any water where we were. While I was considering wearing really long boots in the river just for the fun of it, I was actually glad I didn't in the 80-90 degree weather. What surprised me the most, however, was the amount of plastic stuck in between bushes and rocks, so not only did we have to pick up the trash, but we had to find it. Overall, it was fun being able to do civic engagement with the class, and I was able to make a few connections between L.A. art and the L.A. River.

First of all, despite all of the trash washed up in the river, it was still a beautiful piece of nature. Just like the L.A. river, I believe L.A. art is unique in its own way and each piece of art tells different stories about Los Angeles. I believe the L.A. river tells the story of a "lost" city, just like how the river goes unnoticed by strangers. Whether driving through traffic or walking through the city, the L.A. River is always present, but no one pays attention to recognize it. In a similar sense, so many tourists can walk around L.A. and look at street art murals, graffiti art, or museums without recognizing its historical or political significance. In a way, the meaning of Los Angeles is lost or misinterpreted when people just simple "walk by," without asking questions. This experience at the L.A. River has taught me to always ask questions and be curious throughout my everyday activity. I have to constantly ask myself, "Why am I doing what I'm doing?" "How do my actions affect those around me?" "Why did this turn out the way it did?" I can't be the person who simply drives past the L.A. River anymore. It is important for all of us to take a step back and look at the bigger picture; set our eyes on something more important than what's in front of us. We're in the greatest lost city in the world, but it's our job to make our own connections to the city and find out why it's so important to us uniquely.

Second of all, it felt refreshing to recognize the goodness of civic engagement. The civic engagement reading by Adam Davis talked about the meaning of community service being lost through pride, selfishness, or not really "talking" about community service because it proves the hypocrisy of equality in America. However, this too can be related to the L.A. River because the meaning of community service is misinterpreted. Overall, the FOLAR project made me recognize the goodness of civic engagement and giving back to the community that has given so much to me. I was able to see the L.A. River not only as a piece of nature that needs to be preserved and protected, but also as a piece of art.

On the LA River

The Los Angeles River is a main, central part of Los Angeles, yet it is easily forgotten from people's minds. It is named a "ghost river" due to its diminishing presence in society. Sadly to say, I am one of those ignorant individuals who have not heard about the River until now. I had no idea that there was a river in Los Angeles and had only found out about it in class this year. The FOLAR event was an eye-opening occurrence that made me discover that the L.A. River exists and that there are people who still care for our environment. The River is home to many wildlife creatures as well as vegetation. Yet, nobody thinks about the ducks or the birds when they carelessly litter. They don't think how their trash will pollute the river, which will lead to the deaths of many innocent animals along with the flora. There are some who do not know that whatever they throw away will end up in the river, but there are others who continue to litter even though they know that there are consequences as a result of their actions. However, there are people who care about the River. They want to protect it and preserve its greenery. FOLAR is made up of these individuals and the cleanup is their attempt to make the river free from hazards. It is a selfless event; a symbol of dedication for environmental protection.

The event itself was satisfying to me since I felt good to do something for the community. I had helped out by picking up trash, whether it is in the form of cans, forks, or even clothes. Honestly, I was astonished to see some of the items that were present because they were so unique. I even remember a shopping cart that was cast away in the dirt! Nevertheless, I tried my best to acquire as much trash as I can since I was on a time limit. I had to leave early because I had another appointment later on. I collected a whole bag's worth and had felt proud of myself because of my effort. Through the event, I learned more on the L.A River itself since I was there in person to actually check it out. It was more massive than I thought it was and more trashed than I had imagined. I didn't actually think that there were so much trash laying around, but there was. It was a bit disconcerting to me since the reality didn't fit into my perceived vision. I recycle, reuse, and reduce as much as I can, so I don't see that much trash often. Even though there were a lot of garbage, the sight of multiple volunteers helping out along with the patches of clean spots were more than enough to compensate for the bad feelings I got when I saw the overwhelming amount of trash. There are people who adore the earth as well as the environment so not all hope is lost. Although there are some who are the cause of the pollution, there are many more who try to cure it.

Two Rivers

I remember at the beginning of the semester, we talked about going on this field trip to clean up the Los Angeles river. To be honest, I thought it was somewhat ridiculous cleaning the Los Angeles river considering I never really saw it as a river in a first place. I sort of just saw it as a basin that collects our sewage which is true to some degree. However, as we went on with the semester, I became more and more interested in the relationship between the river and Los Angeles considering how we are able to connect the river to so many themes in our classroom. And as the semester went on, we talked about the river so much; however, we never got the chance to look at it up close.

Soon enough, I found myself at the FOLAR cleanup surrounded by my classmates and other enthusiastic volunteers. After getting a couple trash bags, me and my classmates found our way into the basin of the river. The first thing I noticed going in were the trees in the basin! I just assumed it was all water and we would be picking up trash from there so it was a huge surprise. The second thing I noticed was the assortment of trash. I also had the notion that there were only plastic bottles and grocery bags in the river. I was in awe that I couldn't find either plastic bottles nor grocery bags; however, I found an entire shopping cart embedded in the ground. Some other oddities I saw people find was a pan, a children's play set, and even a fire extinguisher! Finally, the most important thing I found in this trip was the duplicitous nature of the river. I noticed that on one end, it was dry and barren with trash ridden all around. On the other side though, I saw the life that the river brought to the animals that inhabited it. To me, it seemed as though there were two rivers. One that brought light and one that brought darkness. Either way however, the people who were volunteering at the event brought the best out of humanity because I noticed how friendly everyone was! People were playing music and there was nothing but smiles despite the weather. I would definitely say this is such a memorable experience and would definitely want to come back again!! (*Hint Hint FOLAR Clean Up 2019 w/ Prof. Hick's best class!!!!* ) 

FOLAR Cleanup 2017

Well in all honesty, I underestimated how fun the cleanup would be. If you were to look at the state of my room, you would immediately know that I am not the kind of person that enjoys picking up after myself, much less other people. But as it turns out picking up trash with other people is rather enjoyable. Maybe it was the people, I'm not entirely sure, it could just be that the river had much more interesting trash than my room, but overall I did find the experience rather enjoyable, something I would willingly give up my free time to do.

The cleanup lasted around two hours and with the blistering heat, the dust rising everywhere making you cough, and the stench, you'd think that it would seem like an eternity. In reality, nothing could be further from the truth. I made plenty of friends at the river cleanup and with people joking, racing with shopping carts that they had dug up, and competing in contests of strength and speed, time seems to fly. The river itself was surprisingly dirty, with plastic bags melded to the trees, clothes and shopping carts buried under the sand, and chip bags flying everywhere. I found fence pickets, window shutters, tires, tire flaps, and so much more. It made me realize how little we think of trash and how it all serves to damage the environment. Permanently. Those plastic bags aren't coming out of the trees, and there are likely many more shopping carts buried under the sand. Once trash gets into the environment, it really does not want to come out.

I myself have resolved to watch my waste with more caution, and though I am no environmental preservation crackpot, I have never found it more necessary in my life to make sure that we take care of our planet as best we can. To do otherwise would be a betrayal of the beautiful Earth bestowed upon us. By no means will we be environmentally perfect, by no means will we be able to negate the harms that we have done unto our land, but that is no excuse to not try.

Folar Cleanup

Going into the FOLAR cleanup, my expectations were completely different from what it was actually like. Through our various pre-cleanup discussions and my knowledge from having done a couple of beach cleanups before, I was expecting the stereotypical vibe. However, it was much different than one might believe. Rather than the river being an actual river, there was hardly any water. There was, however, a ton of sand and rocks that made navigating through the area extemely difficult. But the biggest shock to me was that rather than there being lots of trash along the river ready to be picked up, you could barely see any trash at a glance because it was all buried and hidden. I honestly found this to be a bit discouraging, and it was difficult for me to collect a lot of trash simce a lot of it required lots of strength to pull it out of the ground, which I do not have. Nevertheless, the trash I was capable of collecting also shocked me; I was expecting the commonly known soda cans and chip bags, but instead I came across things like electronic accessories, computer parts, and lot and lots of clothes. The overall atmosphere was pleasing, and there was a lot more people and groups than I expected. I genuinely enjoyed the feeling of contributing to the community's cleanliness with others from the community, and I hope to participate again next year.