Volunteer clean-up celebrates Earth Day

 

April 29, 2021

BEAUTIFUL PROJECT --- Kelly Harper took time out from an Earth Day clean-up project to enjoy the natural beauty along McGlinn Island Road last Thursday. A dozen local volunteers took part in the effort. – Photo by Bill Reynolds

Cleaning the planet can be as simple – and rewarding – as a walk on the beach.

That was proved Thursday south of La Conner when Kelly Harper of Balance Point Physical Therapy led a dozen volunteers on an Earth Day clean-up project between Conner Waterfront Park and the McGlinn Island sandspit, a route that has become a favorite among local hikers.

“I don’t know if we’ll get a lot of garbage,” she said as the group set off, “but we’ll have a great nature hike and it will be a perfect way to celebrate Earth Day.”

Sure enough, the group enjoyed keeping their eyes peeled for spring wildflowers, seals and eagles.

Surprisingly, though, the grassy areas off McGlinn Island Road – nestled along Swinomish Channel – yielded no small amount of discarded trash.

In addition to the more typical collection of ditched bottles and cans, Harper’s group gathered up household items such as books and blankets that had been illegally dumped there.

The collection bags Harper and others carried filled up more than expected.

“It was definitely a success,” said Harper, whose previous Earth Day missions have focused on the Snee Oosh Beach area. “We collected a bunch of debris and also enjoyed great weather and scenery.”

Indeed, late Thursday afternoon was sunny and warm, ideal for a trek to the McGlinn shoreline.

Dave and Ronna Husby of Shelter Bay were especially eager to take in this year’s Earth Day loop, one they had recently discovered while out hiking. They were not alone. Harper felt the location might have been a factor in drawing a larger than usual volunteer corps.

Early arrivals shared a photo op with Brodie the newshound next to the southwest entrance to Pioneer Park. Photographer Don Coyote arranged the diverse group of volunteers – composed of teens, parents and grandparents – as if setting up for a class portrait.

The big lesson, of course, was to stress the importance of making Earth Day an everyday thing.

The Swinomish Indian Tribal Community has taken that approach for more than a decade. Each Earth Day, Swinomish tribal members and staff join forces to beautify and upgrade key areas on the reservation. Projects have included removal of invasive weeds, clean-up of beach areas and maintaining the native plant trail near the cedar hat pavilions and gardens near Northwest Indian College.

Thus, on both sides of Swinomish Channel, it has been the classic “think globally, act locally” formula.

Launched April 22, 1970, Earth Day marks the anniversary of the modern environmental movement, giving voice to an emerging public consciousness about the state of the planet.

Nearly 200 nations participate annually, mobilizing about one-seventh the world’s population – thus making each of the La Conner area volunteers one in a billion.

 

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