Sunday, February 24, 2013

Willamette River Clean-Up

On a chilly day in October, Erica and I signed up for the Willamette River Clean-up through the Willamette River Keeper Organization. It was our first time and we weren't sure what to expect, but it turned out to be an awesome experience! Thanks Stephen for seeing us off and taking these pics! 
Here we are, about to leave Willamette Park in our journey across the river to a small island that was full of trash! It was an eye opening experience.
 It was a windy day! We made it though!
 We were part of a large group at our location. There were several large groups of people along the 187 mile stretch of the river.
 Erica with her first bag-o-trash of many.
 I found a huge metal pipe and thought I had found the largest piece of garbage on the island. Boy was I wrong!
 There was a group of guys who were wading in the shallow water and found this pile of garbage. Really? a push mower? How does somebody decide this is an acceptable thing to throw in the river?
There were a few unexpected finds, like this wilted rose....
I also found this little guy growing in a downed tree.
We are about to head back with our garbage, and while it doesn't look like a lot, it was and we felt super excited about it!
 Canoeing in the city....Portland is awesome!
Here's what our group collected from the island. It was a lot!

 We went to the after party and won raffle gifts! I won a $50 gift certificate for the clymb.com! Hooray! Let the good karma begin!