Blog Post 4

1.) Where are you with your action? (e.g. what involvement have you had so far? Describe with examples)

So far, my group and I have completed 2 ocean cleanups. This time, we decided to clean up a small community park near Eagle Ridge Pool. Since we did not feel like we reached our goal, we decided to move on to another location on the same day. We went to a plaza very close to the park we were at. We don’t remember the exact address of it but there was a 7/11 in the plaza. In total, our cleanup was around an hour and a half not including the time it took us to get to the location. Overall, it was a successful second cleanup.

2.) What are some successes that you have had? Provide specific examples.

One of the many successes that we had during our second cleanup was the amount of garbage we were able to pick up in the limited time we had. Not only were we able to reach our goal, but we passed it by a lot. However, this time we decided to measure our success based on how much garbage we were able to pick up rather than how full the trash bag was. In my opinion, this cleanup was much more successful than the last one because we found many small pieces. We found a lot of cigarette butts, and I think it’s a good thing that we managed to pick up a lot of them because I believe that they are very harmful to the environment.

3.) What are some challenges that you have faced? Have you been able to overcome them? If so, how? Provide specific examples. If not, can you problem-solve some ideas that might work for next time or if a similar situation arises? Again, provide specific examples.

As I mentioned earlier, this cleanup was much more successful than the previous one. One of the reasons for that is because we did not face as many challenges. In my opinion, the biggest challenge was having to reschedule our cleanup. We collectively came to the agreement that if we were to keep the cleanup to the day we had already planned, we would not be as efficient for many reasons. Mainly due to the weather. There was a big storm and flood that took place overnight. Our city was not flooded, however, it was still very wet to the point where we would not be able to go clean up in the location we planned, which was in a forest with mud everywhere. Another challenge we faced but managed to overcome was the fact that the community park we decided to clean was already very clean. There was basically no garbage to be picked up. We decided to go to a plaza and I think that was a great idea because we managed to pick up a lot of garbage there.

4.) What are you doing next and why?

Next, we will continue to visit different parks and other local areas to clean up. The goal is to clean up a variety of areas within our community. I think that we are currently on the right path in order to reach our goal. Going to clean up different parts of our community is something i always look forward to. Knowing that my group and I are making an impact on our community and the environment is a great thing.