IMG_5283 by Sean Lawson, on FlickrThe little bay known as Government Cove sits right between mp47 on I-84 and Quarry Island, or Government Rock(both seem to be unofficial names). It's a site that doesn't see a lot respect from most of its visitors. Road grades, a rock quarry and(what was) a seemingly endless amount of garbage seemed to be the coves biggest highlight. But it offers so much more than that, hiking and rock climbing, beautiful views of the river and a haven for birds, as in just the first few minutes of being there we spotted geese, cormorants, woodpeckers and several species of duck. A good portion of the garbage was right next to the gate(shocker)
IMG_5223 by Sean Lawson, on Flickr
IMG_5237 by Sean Lawson, on FlickrI fumbled over a brief safety speech, had volunteers fill out some waivers and offered everyone some cookies before we split off into groups to do some good in the world
After filling a couple bags by the jetty and gate Joie and I headed off for the shoreline. We must have pulled 2-300 shotgun shells off this little rocky beach:
IMG_5257 by Sean Lawson, on FlickrAfter meeting up back at the gate we took a few pictures, said our goodbyes and loaded up the sante fe with the 34 trash bags
As Joie and I headed to the dump I was feeling pretty impacted by what we'd just experienced. On one hand you'd just witnessed another example of the sometimes depressing and irresponsible nature of mankind, while at the same time sharing that experience with others who wished to reverse that shortfall. The fourteen people pictured in the opening photo all came out to help after reading a Facebook post, the other two were a father and son who registered through Solve. Although the difference we made in the world was small, we kept 300 lbs of garbage out of the river(and potentially the ocean) and proved that even picking up someone else's trash can be fun(and pretty damn funny!). I think the only real victory in this battle will come when the trash isn't left in the first place. In terms of efforts like this it's a war we cant win, but we can educate and spread good stewardship practices going forward, and that's our best bet at turning the tide on an issue like this. It needs to be common knowledge in every household that garbage, especially near water ways is totally unacceptable. One would think it already is, but if that's the case the idea certainly isn't being put into practice. So even if we cant get every last piece of trash that's already out there, we can shift the perspective in our culture that says(by whatever means) that this behavior is ok in the first place.
Next time I will most definitely post in the weeks leading up. Which leads to my next question, what other locations would benefit from a cleanup effort like this one? I'm open to all suggestions and am totally happy to organize, haul the trash away and do the paperwork with solve etc(they even give you the ego inflating title of event coordinator 
