This month’s Rockaway cleanup slid in nicely between two major storms and took on a distinctly international flavor!  Jim, Ana and Lynn hosted great returning volunteers and a group of 12 people from truly around the world.  Global Ties is an organization through the US State Department that hosts trips to the US for global non-profits and Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs).  We had an enthusiastic group that heard about the PBC, and in one of their few stops around the US, wanted to see what we do so that they could bring back this info to their respective countries!  What a compliment to the work being done in Pacifica!

Our visitors from Malawi, Guinea-Bissau, Kenya, Greece, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Palestine, Iceland, Yemen, Haiti and their hosts from NY hit the area hard, loading us up with over 400 cigarette butts, bottles, cans, plastic, a large pipe and more.  Our Haitian friend even took a swim and caught a fish (we still don’t know how he did it)!

Lynn led a discussion talking about our respective missions, theirs focusing on dire human crises around the world and moving into environmental work as their countries begin to see the need.  All then recited the “Earth Hero Pledge,” pinned on their Earth Hero buttons and made their way north to Muir Woods.

Our returning, dedicated dog-walkers, students from Daly City and even tourists passing by did a great job cleaning the whole area from north to south, parking lots and around the hotels.  As we finished up, the sun made way for the next deluge of rain which hit just as we loaded up the last of our supplies!  No doubt this work would show future visitors that you can have human recreation in a coastal environment with a minimum of impact if we all work together.