Lenny Rock
Special to the Sun

Saturday, July 19, Brian Cosgrove hosted over 70 enthusiastic volunteers at the Fifth Annual Kern River Clean-up Day. Young and old alike joined in this gratifying, but hard work nonetheless trash and litter pick up project.

Cosgrove, who was then with the Forest Service, first spearheaded the lower river clean-up project in 2003 in an effort to give back to the community. His personal dedication to protecting our precious natural resources was also a major factor. I'm proud to of the fact that the annual event has grown in attendance each and every year, Cosgrove said. Volunteers participating in the day-long project for the first time described their river and general environmental awareness expanded 100 percent.

Meeting at 9:00am in the Miracle Hot Springs parking area, volunteers were divided into groups, joined in loading the rafts, and then were trucked to various spots on the river to begin the clean up.

It's mind boggling the types and the amounts of trash and litter you'll find along the river, volunteers said. Litter and trash were found primarily in the high use camping areas, but trash was also in the remote areas where people really had to pack it in. Plastics in every size and shape were picked up, along with Styrofoam, grilling equipment – complete with the cooking utensils - tires, beds, boom boxes, refrigerators, articles of clothing, footwear, personal products and beer bottles galore. In fact, beer and propane bottles appeared to be the number one choice for target practice.

For protection, volunteers were given plastic bags and plastic gloves to corral the trash. All the while, participants had to be aware of the poison oak. One volunteer, who was personally attacked by a swarm of bees while loading a trash bag, said, “This was only one of the many highlights of my day.”

After a long, fun day of enjoying the river and the rapids, volunteers unloaded the mountain of trash and litter they had collected and piled it neatly for Forest Service pick up. Then it was time to re-load the rafts and be trucked back to Miracle Hot Springs where more fun was about to begin.

Cosgrove had planned a celebration party for everyone who participated in the event. The big griller was unloaded and fired up, corn was shucked, and suddenly the aroma BBQ filled the air. Our outstanding trio of musicians, Out of the Blue, entertained the group throughout the evening with their unique blend of song, harmony's and acoustic mastery. Each volunteer received a drawing ticket at the sign up and a large number of prizes were drawn and given out at the dinner.

It's amazing what people can accomplish by working together. Next year Cosgrove wants to grow the Kern River Clean Up event to more than 200 volunteers. “Don't miss it,” Cosgrove said. “You'll have a great time, meet fantastic people and do a great service for all of us.” He offered a special thanks to all the local merchants for providing the items needed for the event including the rafts, trucks, food, prizes and music.