"Never doubt that a small group of thoughtfully committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it's the only thing that ever has." —Margaret Mead
Earth Day 2008 was celebrated in Loreto with a community effort to clean-up the Arroyo Candeleria. Over 100 people registered for the event as early as 7:30 AM at the home of Jesús and Macial Cortés.
Children and teenagers joined their parents and friends in the huge task of picking up mountains of garbage and trash that littered the arroyo just north of Infonavit. Community volunteers lent their trucks, bulldozers and muscles to the job, along with enthusiastic members of the Bay of Loreto National Park.
There had been some grumbling about the selection of the arroyo rather than a section of the beach as in years past, but there was logic to the decision. For years the arroyo had been an unchecked dumping ground of trash, broken furniture and fish waste. The extent of the collected garbage was putrid mixture of decay and non-biodegradable matter.
During the rainy season, the dry riverbed turns into a raging torrent, sweeping all of the collected waste into the wasters of the Sea of Cortez. This year’s cleanup included untold number of tires, hundreds of plastic and glass bottles, tin cans, cardboard boxes, auto parts, an uncountable amount of plastic bags, along with vats of spent oil and other substances toxic to marine life.
At first glance, the task of clean-up seemed overwhelming, but as the small army of volunteers spread through the littered ground, an amazing energy seemed to overtake the work. Laughter mingled with sweat as trash bag after trash bag was filled, mounded into piles, loaded into the back of pickup trucks and trailers and hauled in over 25 trips to the dump. Bulldozers had broken up and buried concrete and asphalt refuse too large to be removed.
Just before noon, a tired and hungry crowd turned back to admire their efforts. Instead of litter, a sparkling clean arroyo greeted their eyes. Beyond the reward of the results, a grand barbecue luncheon awaited the crews on the beach in front of Rancho Jaral.
Pessimists abound in any effort, and some responses to the event ran along the line of, “Just how long do you think that will last? An hour?
The answer was simple and straightforward, “As long as possible - but even an hour was worth the clean-up.”
What we learn when we come together, is that we can make a difference, and that our actions function as a guide for others to follow. We can’t immediately change decades of behavior, but bag by bag, can by can, bottle by bottle, we can pick and dispose properly our refuse, and in doing so, provide a visual education for others to follow.
Writer Tim Faulkner said, “Earth Day teaches us that collective action is more powerful than individual initiative.”
The event was sponsored by Eco-Alianza de Loreto, A.C. and Baja Life Magazine, and organized by committee members Maciel Cortéz, Adrianna Curland, Rosa Campos, Mary Lampros, Linda Kinninger, Val Wilkerson, and Hugo Quintero, who is the president of the Board of Eco-Alianza.Eco-Alianza de Loreto, A.C. is a nonprofit membership organization committed to working collaboratively to protect and preserve the coastal, marine and terrestrial eco-systems of the Municipality of Loreto, while promoting smart growth strategies and viable communities in the region. The group’s mission is to leave a legacy as earth kind stewards celebrating nature in her balance with compassion for all living things.
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