Fairmount Ravine cleanup: “Camp” cleared; unusual discoveries

Those are most of the 20 volunteers who teamed up for the 18th annual Fairmount Ravine cleanup under this morning (a few had to leave before they wrapped around 11 am, when we dropped by). As usual, volunteers cut and pulled piles of ivy away from trees – the ivy is what you DON’T see on the trees in this photo:

And they picked up what amounted to a hill of trash:

The cart you see in that photo was apparently used by people who had been camping under the bridge, according to cleanup organizer John Lang. He spotted signs of the encampment earlier in the week – including a dog – and asked police to make sure the area was clear before the cleanup. He says they found dozens of cans of dog food while cleaning up today, and planned to take it to the West Seattle Food Bank (which offers pet food to clients with pets, when available). By the way, today’s volunteers included a group of high-school students – from West Seattle HS, Kennedy and O’Dea.

4 Replies to "Fairmount Ravine cleanup: "Camp" cleared; unusual discoveries"

  • sillygoose March 7, 2010 (8:16 am)

    WOW!! Cool great job you guys, it warms my heart to see youth involved in service projects like this for our community. Three high schools working together doesn’t get any better than that!!

  • bridge to somewhere March 7, 2010 (9:02 am)

    By the way, I have heard that pets are not allowed at many homeless shelters, which is one reason some homeless people camp out.

  • villageidiot March 7, 2010 (1:11 pm)

    An unusual discovery would be something like a dead body.

  • John March 8, 2010 (9:10 am)

    There is no way I would leave my dog simply to have shelter for myself. i’d sleep outside too…..with my best friend.

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