Nicodemus Wilderness Project -- Global Registry of Apprentice Ecologists

Our Cleanup Initiative At Hazel Dell Park

I planned and took a trip to a park near my home, which I felt was most in need of some quality attention and a few young men that were willing to clean it up. This park has been a victim of careless pollution by people who could care less about the environment or the other people and wildlife that inhabit the park on occasion. The name of the park is â€œHazel Dellâ€ park and itâ€™s located in Vancouver, WA. My friends that I recruited to help me clean up were Chris Clark, Jesse Boehm, William Yearout and Derek Thurston. These men were willing to take a few hours out of there day to help me as long as we got to play football afterwards.

Growing up in this area my whole life it is unfortunate to see the dramatic changes that have occurred here. A park which was once the location for many adolescentsâ€™ birthdays and family get-togethers is now a hot spot for gang members and criminal activity. I feel the condition and pollution of the park demeans the value and respect people have for it, leading to this increased unacceptable behavior.

My friends and me showed up to the park garbage bags in hand ready to roam the wooded 20 acres and pick up every piece of trash or miscellaneous pollutant we could find. We felt this was the least that we could do after all this area offered us growing up. It was a beautiful day outside and a nice change of pace. We managed to crack jokes and play around putting a fun spin on cleaning the place up. I was shocked and disgusted to see some of the garbage people left behind. A couple of us had an extra big plastic garbage receptacles that we decided to leave in the park in hopes that the residents will walk the extra feet to throw it away instead of leaving it there to rot.

What my friends and I did may seem minuscule but it was one initiative and one park closer to a pollutant free environment. If we as a community and a country can look towards the future and the prevention of pollution instead of the present and adding on to an already enormous task at hand then there is light at the end of the tunnel. I just hope my children and their children will get to breath the same fresh air that I have gotten to experience in the great Northwest.