LA River Clean Up

Hello, my name is Paige Montoya and I am a first year undeclared student at CSULA. I am taking English 101 with Ms. Hernandez. On Saturday April 23, 2016 I attended the FOLAR clean up at the LA river. I didn't really know what to expect when I arrived, I just figured that I would pick up trash. The staff and organizers were so organized and knew exactly what to do to keep the program going. I was shocked that so many people attended. Different schools, young children, and people who care about the LA river were there to help. Gloves, bags, healthy snacks, sunscreen, and other useful information about the river was provided which I thought was very helpful and thoughtful. After I  received my items and a cool T-Shirt I was off to clean the LA river. I started picking up trash like it was Easter Sunday and I was looking for eggs but instead it was trash. I picked up many different things like a credit card, metal, but mostly plastic items. As I was picking up trash I was in total awe, looking and actually being in the LA river. I live so close to the LA river but I never really acknowledged it. I always passed by it and recognized it as a sewer. This relates to our class reading Thirteen Ways of Seeing Nature in L.A. by Jenny Price because she argued that people don't realize that LA actually has nature. She definitely proved me wrong because the LA river was a beautiful scenery to me and I would have discovered it if I never participated in the clean up. It also connects to The Lorax because after all the damage and corruption people have done the LA river shows the result of what happened. Luckily there are many people who want to help what others have done by cleaning up after them. At the end of the clean up I learned that we actually have a river and we should treat it like a river. The clean up to me was very a productive experience and would definitely do it again. I also learned that if cities in LA had stainless steal metal gates or bars on the sewer entrances that would make a big difference with all the trash in the river.