By Paula White
Martin Luther King Jr. once said “Everybody can be great because anybody can serve. You don’t have to have a college degree to serve. You don’t have to make your subject and verb agree. You only need a heart full of grace. A soul generated by love.”
This past Monday people from all walks of life came together to serve their communities and this earth we are privileged to walk on. The Watershed Project was proud to be a part of this outpouring of love, both at the Richmond Greenway and Pt. Pinole. Here are some highlights from each site.
Unity Park Plaza
- Over 50 people participated in tree planting with The Watershed Project (and more with other organizations!)
- 10 trees planted to provide shade and wildlife habitat
- About 500 people attended ribbon cutting and MLK minute of silence at noon
- All volunteers enjoyed a free lunch and breakfast, youth performances, music, and dancing
- Over 17 community leaders, including The Watershed Project, helped cut a section of the ceremonial ribbon for Unity Park Plaza
We would like to thank the City of Richmond, all of the Friends of the Richmond Greenway partners who worked so hard to put on the event and all our amazing volunteers including Americorps & Climate Corps fellows and Alpha Kappa Alpha!
Our work on the Richmond Greenway is ongoing. Please check our events page for upcoming volunteer events, and be sure to check out our Facebook page for photos of the event. If you would like more information, please contact Sharon Gibbons (sharon@thewatershedproject.org)
Richmond Greenway: 6th-8th Street
- Over 100 enthusiastic volunteers sheet mulched, weeded and planted native plants
- 250 native plants were put into our bioswales and native plant gardens along the Lillie Mae Jones Trail
We were thrilled to host so many incredible volunteers, including groups from AKA Alpha Nu Omega Chapter and Playworks, as we planted, mulched, weeded and had a great time! Volunteers from this site enjoyed the free lunch and ceremony at Unity Park.
Join us every Second Saturday, we invite volunteers to join us on the Richmond Greenway. Contact Sharon (sharon@thewatershedproject.org) for more information.
Pt. Pinole Regional Shoreline
- 70 volunteers removed invasive ice plant from the marsh, cleaned up the shoreline, and restore “Monarch Meadow”
- 8 cubic yards of weeds and 110 gallons of trash removed from the marsh and shoreline
- 50 native plants planted and mountains of mulch spread at the meadow
The Watershed Project thanks its co-hosts , the East Bay Regional Park District, for making the event a great success. A special thanks to the Starbucks at 15521 San Pablo Ave. for donating two boxes of coffee. We also thank the groups from SKUID and Nutiva, the Hercules High School Red Cross Club, and all the volunteers who came out from the surrounding community. Check our Facebook page for photos.
Many thanks to volunteers who participated in our events, and to all volunteers across the Bay Area – and country – who made the choice to make their day off a Day of Service!
Service doesn’t stop after MLK Day! We invite you to support our ongoing efforts to prevent Marine Debris. We are focusing on 2 problem items: plastic bottle caps and shotgun wadding.
On MLK Day we collected 134 plastic bottle caps, the 5th most deadly type of marine debris to wildlife.
Bottle caps can kill seabirds either through starvation or from internal injuries from sharp plastic fragments. Unlike bottles, which typically sink, plastic bottle caps float and persist indefinitely in the ocean. The Watershed Project supports the Connect-the-Cap bill AB319, which would require all plastic beverage bottles sold in the state to have the cap permanently tethered to the bottle. Please take action to keep plastic caps from hurting more animals by contacting your state assembly member and ask them to support AB319.
By far the single most numerous plastic item found on Monday was shotgun wadding, over 20 times more than bottle caps.
Unlike the shell, which falls to the ground when the gun is fired, the shotgun wad contains and directs the shot and travels some distance towards the target and is therefore difficult to retrieve. Though compostable materials for wadding can be found, plastic wadding is much more prevalent, and like all plastics found in a marine environment, can potentially harm wildlife through ingestion. The Watershed Project has been aware of this problem for many years and we plan to outreach to rod and gun clubs to encourage more watershed and ocean-friendly equipment and hunting practices. We are collecting letters, photos, and testimonials from concerned citizens. Please mail or email them to:
The Watershed Project
1327 S. 46th St. Bldg 155
Richmond, CA 94804
Attn: Paula White
