March 1

Becca, Nick and I were up bright and early (5:30 AM!) for a Saturday so we could travel to Avondale and help as volunteers to clean up an area of the Gila River. We picked up TONS of trash. I was in the river knee-deep in murky, dead fishy, stinky water picking up beer bottles, cans, Styrofoam cups, shoes, and all kinds of trash. It was cold before the sun came up, and I wrapped my big old trash bag around my shoulders to keep warm before we got started working. Once we were moving, it wasn't so cold.
These are the ward members that came for our cleanup project. We won the trophy for the group that actually cleaned up the MOST trash. We came up with tires, carpeting, rotten clothes, metal fence posts, traffic barriers, and all kinds of gross, rotting and disgusting items. Becca and 'Kayla made good tire toters.
Dallas and Brother Beeson decided to make our own "Trash-Man" out of some of the unusual pieces we found. It was cute and all, but very STINKY!

In spite of the early hour, the chilly air, and the prospect of cleaning up the garbage left by other human beings, it was a great experience. We got to watch then release to Red-tailed hawks back into the wild after being rehabilitated from injuries. And we know that the area we cleaned will be much more enjoyable to those who attend the Tres Rios Project. We actually did something that will impact the environment for the better!