Community Corner
Hundreds Turn Out for Redwood City Clean-Up
Redwood City notched up the most votes to bring Save the Bay to Redwood Creek, one of seven selected Bay Trash Hot Spots that the organization would adopt.
An estimated ton of trash was pulled out of Redwood City waterways by scores of volunteers who took part in a weekend cleanup celebrating Earth Day.
“We even found a birth certificate,” said Diane Howard, chair of the 10th annual event that drew more than 500 people.
“Was it Obama’s?” a man joked as Howard, a former mayor, addressed the workers as they assembled following a day of picking up litter at parks, schools and other sites targeted in the Spring Cleanup organized by the Redwood City Pride and Beautification Committee.
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“Redwood City is our home and this is the way to show pride of ownership and keep our promise to future generations,” said Howard, who added that a wallet containing a Social Security card was also retrieved. She would not release the name of the owner.
Gino Gasparini of Recology San Mateo County gave the estimate of 2,000 pounds of junk recovered from creeks and bay waters.
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“We found office chairs, a wet suit, many soccer balls and a buoy,” he said.
The stops under Saturday’s sunny sky included Union Cemetery, site of recent vandalism to tombstones, and Little River Park, where city crews a few weeks back took out picnic tables in an effort to combat littering.
“Taking out the picnic tables seems to have worked,” one volunteer said while picking up trash at Little River near the Caltrain depot at Sequoia Station. “There isn’t near as much trash as last year.”
The man, who did not want to be named, later went to Sequoia High School just across El Camino from the park and filled a large debris bag with bottles, cigarette butts other junk.
Like the park, the man said the school was surprisingly clean compared to past pickups.
“I think the students are getting the message,” he said.
Other locations included Redwood Creek, the Port of Redwood City, and Red Morton and Garrett Parks.
The volunteers started the day at the city public works yard at Broadway and Woodside Road where they were treated to breakfast and, later when they returned, to a lunch that included a barbeque.
Volunteers from several community groups took part. Howard asked them to raise their hands and name their organization. The groups include Save the Bay, a yacht club, North Star school and Mount Carmel Church.
Even MIT was there. In this case, MIT stood for McKinley Institute of Technology at McKinley Middle School.
