A selfie (taken by Ruby) to celebrate a great workday with employee volunteers from the Claremont Club and Spa. (Photo by Ruby J. Soto Cardona, 2024)
On March 14th, on a very windy, crystal clear day, ten hearty souls from the Claremont Club and Spa joined our Conservancy community to clean up parts of Garber Park and the public paths leading to its Evergreen entrance. By the end of the day, we had gathered over 15 bags of debris—mostly those long strands of eucalyptus bark that constantly peel off trees and litter the forest floor.
One person noted, as a large strand of bark sailed overhead, that she wished she could have filmed the windy scene to demonstrate how far eucalyptus debris can fly. At one point we all had to duck as eucalyptus pods pummeled us from above. We enjoyed our good, clean work, however, and numerous hikers smiled and thanked us as they passed by.
In Garber Park we collected, broke down, and bagged eucalyptus branches from main paths and offtrail areas. We were able to clear most of the debris from the Alvarado entrance and from a section we call Oak Grove, making both areas more walkable and fire safe for all to enjoy.
For some volunteers, this was their first time working in a woodland setting. As the day progressed, our efforts turned into a relaxing activity far from technology—so much so that, unbeknown to us, the city was experiencing power outages.
Our workday was followed by a delicious and plentiful lunch under the “big top” back at the hotel grounds. Thank you Claremont Club and Spa for your employees’ volunteerism and for supplying the lunch. Appreciation also goes to neighbors who support our work by taking some of our green waste bags.
If you would like to join those neighbors in agreeing to take some of our green waste bags after a volunteer day, please reach out to us at info@claremontcanyon.org.
