Five volunteers and one doggie showed up to clean the Golden Gardens Park: Joy, Rita, Laura, Ron and me… and Fergie. As we assembled in the parking lot, distributing trash bags and getting a group photo, a gorgeous Great Blue Heron flew above our heads in circles–an omen for a good day to be had on the beach. It wasn’t drizzling, so our spirits were high, and we set off in three directions.
Laura & Ron set off to clean around our parking lot, then went to clean the north side of the beach. Rita & Joy went to clean around the Bathhouse and playground as a team, and Fergie-the-Goldendoodle and I cleaned the parking lot curbs on our way to clean the picnic areas going towards the entrance to the park. Doggies are not allowed on the beach proper, so if you decide to bring your [patient and docile] dog, please be aware of this law.
Sometimes we find towels (of course!) at a beach park, as Laura did. We leave “nice” towels beside the sidewalk, but discard the rest. Joy carefully combed bushes for hidden trash–the wind often blows it there. I found a pair of “nice” tube socks and decided to leave them on a log beside the sidewalk. Did someone go wading with the seals and forget to take their socks home? We leave “nice” items of clothing in a conspicuous place: hats, scarves, gloves, “nice” socks and shoes, and “nice” children’s clothing and shoes. If we find toys and kids’ clothing, we leave them on the playground where they will be seen easily.
As Joy and Rita combed the bathhouse area, they saw a man leaving the beach with a large bag and assumed it was trash. Sometimes, though, people will bring blankets to the beach, in a bag. So, it’s your call to interact (or not) with people who look like they’re hauling trash to make sure they are beach cleaners (or not).
Determining this could help you decide where to clean.
A Seattle Parks & Rec crew was pruning the bushes growing in a roundabout. I thanked them–and they thanked me back!
I picked up glass shards because they were few. If you find a large area of broken glass, or other trash that is difficult to pick up, please use the Find It, Fix It app which is free to download– BEFORE you get to the beach. It is self-explanatory.
“They dined on mince, and slices of quince which they ate with a runcible spoon….” Does ‘runcible’ include plastic, I wondered…? I found a game die, but it was too muddy for me to roll it to see if I was ‘lucky’ that day. Two Amtrak trains came flying past, as did a bright orange freight train and a train from Canada. A cherry-red fire engine visited Golden Gardens without a siren–maybe a “bathroom break”? Actually, Ron saw them carefully folding their hoses, so it was possibly a practice run.
The Olympics stood proud and snow-dusted in the distance. The picnic areas were quite clean–it makes me proud of our Parks & Rec crews. I found a couple of huge fish bones: could they have been remnants of a harbor seal’s lunch, later picked up and dropped by an opportunistic seagull? I was serenaded by the seals in the harbor… as cyclists rode by and people enjoyed this glorious Park. Daffodils announced the gradual arrival of Spring, and a Trojan envelope made me proud of planned parenthood at work even here at the beach.
Somebody scored a good deal at Marshall’s (but the tag didn’t quite make it home). A singular surgical glove created an aura of mystery, while Joy found a working watch that simply needed a new wristband. (I encouraged her to take it home or donate it to a thrift store). Ron “got paid” by the Universe for filling his trash bag with all kinds of litter, including lots of cans and bottle to recycle in the blue recycle bins.
He has yet to use his five-dollar bill; I wonder if he is proudly thinking of framing it? Fergie-the-dog, ever so patient with me as I slowly scoured the landscape, picking up odd bits and pieces of litter, was glad to have a lie-down in the car after 90 minutes of a good Treasure Hunt.
Another great day outside, walking a beautiful Seattle Park–with purpose and in great company of others! Thank you to every one of our wonderful volunteers.
May our folks who are in recovery from illness, surgery (or other things that prevent them from joining us) feel better and enjoy the coming of Spring with the rest of us.
Best wishes,
Claudia & Ron Green
To join the Clean Beach Team, contact Claudia or Ron Green
To join UWFA, see our membership information.