Cleaning the LA River on Earth Day

Hello, my name is Marcos Maravilla and I am a Freshman in CSULA. Currently enrolled in English 1005b with Prof. Hernandez. On Saturday, April 22, 2017 I attended the LA River clean up organized by the Friends Of Los Angeles River(FOLAR), I got to say I never knew how much garbage ends up in the river. What I picked up the most was plastic, practically plastic bags. You would see plastic bags on the trees, bushes, and even buried in the dirt. The problem I had while trying to pick up plastic was that it would easily rip and I was not able to pick up the rest. I tried getting as much plastic as possible, as I was doing that it reminded me of the Great Pacific Garbage Patch. The trip to the LA River made me see how it contributes to the pollution in our waters. As well as how plastic contaminates our marine life, this also contributes to the biomagnification and we humans end up eating the contaminates. I personally like the soft beds of the LA River since my local part of the river is still covered by cement. Some years ago, my uncle would take me around the soft bed to fish for carp. I love the scenery of the LA River and I appreciate nature and how you can see it fighting back to revitalize itself. Something I find upsetting, is how the LA River was a natural habitat for frogs, but because of industrialization they do not occupy the river anymore. Cleaning the river made me excited for the summer where I am planning a trip to Yosemite National Park to disconnect from the city and be one with nature.