"Bring the People to the LA River"

Hi ALL!

As you may take notice, my name is Gaby and I am a freshman at CSULA enrolled in the English Stretch program with Professor Jenny. This past weekend I attended The 22nd Annual LA River Clean Up or as my bag reads "LA Gran Limpieza". When I first got to the LA River and found Jenny, she introduced me to her husband Robert and Nayeli(a student from her "all girl class" as she said). They were both a pleasure to meet, it really made me feel welcomed. Once I got a sense of environment, Jenny handed me a beautiful bright green bag that reads "Bring the People to the LA River" in big bold letters. To me the bag seemed so cool, and I was happy I came for the free stuff, but that wasn't the great reason I was there. I was there to clean and make a difference in my community.

I was partnered with some of the loveliest girls- Nayeli, Diana, Gavi, and Bero. All four of them taught me so much about the environment that we live in. Together we found all kinds of trash from a frying pan to a shopping kart without front tires. I think the craziest thing that we found was the frying pan with oil in it and metal forks around in the same area. It was just so crazy. The girls and I said, "somebody was having a party in the LA River" and laughed. When we were finally heading back to the clean up station Gavi found a dead lizard, this may seem pointless but Gavi found the dead lizard so interesting. Haha I never knew someone could be so fond over a dead animal. She decided to honor the lizard by hanging it on a stick in the kart. All I could do was laugh because I didn't know how to react as a vegetarian. But, now that I look back I honestly admire Gavi's reaction towards all animals even when dead. She taught me to acknowledge all of my environment including the animals- dead and alive.

It's given that every environment has all kinds of natural plants, water, animals, and insects; so it is up to us to take care of our environment. Through this experience I saw the LA River for my first time, met lovely people, learned to clean up my environment and cherish it's both dead and live animals. I saw all of this and grasped it all in my mind, and was given an awesome new bag that reminds me of this day. So now I hold my bag proudly that reads, "Bring the People to the River" and feel proud to be standing up for the cause of environmental justice.