The Solution For A Litter Free Tomorrow

2014 Accomplishments:

1) We were granted our 501(c)3 charitable status.

2) We have grown to nearly 6,500 members.

3) We have performed dozen's of awareness events.

4) We have several of our prototype trail boxes helping to promote cleaner trails and parks.

5) We engaged in our first corporate social responsibility event with LIONSHARES (the philanthropic arm of Lionsgate Entertainment).

6) We've lined up several great partnerships with organizations like City of Hope National Medical Center, National Outdoor Leadership School (NOLS), Staples, National Business Products Industry, and the Institute of Cancer Research. 

All of this we've done on a a shoestring, with a little elbow grease, a few dedicated volunteers, passion, and a minimal investment. 

Just imagine what we could do with your help!

Entertainment Giant LIONSGATE Partners with Clean Trails

Posted on November 26, 2014 by Richard Solosky

Clean Trails continues to gain momentum in partnerships, volunteers, and opportunites to spread our message to everyone who enjoys the outdoors.  LIONSHARES, the philanthropic arm of LIONSGATE the entertainment giant that has brought us block buster movies like The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 1 and award-winning TV like Mad Men is just the latest.

As stated on their website: "LIONSHARES is a volunteer program that seeks to provide opportunities for employees within the Lionsgate family to partner with a diverse range of charitable organizations.  The program not only enriches the Lionsgate work experience through cultural and educational outreach, but also positively interacts and invests in the local and global community."

Clean Trails is in good company!

"Since its founding in August 2012, LIONSHARES has formed corporate partnerships with the Special Olympics and International Medical Corp.  A few notable events include: Special Olympics Pier del Sol: Stars 'n Stripes on the Pier, Special Olympics Summer Games in Long Beach, as well as raising over $40,000 for International Medical Corp by partnering with The Impossible.  LIONSHARES also works closely with other organizations, including the Children’s Hospital of Los Angeles, My Friend’s Place, The United Friends of the Children, and Westside Food Bank."

Lionsgate TV Contract Administrator, Elizabeth Rhee had been interested in organizing a trash clean up at a local park in her Sherman Oaks CA neighborhood and was referred to us by Lisa Barbato, LIONSHARES volunteer committee chairperson.  Elizabeth contacted us with a simple request:  "I would like to partner with an organization that would be able to provide materials and know-how, so that if I gather a large group of volunteers we may be able to make a big impact cleaning up one of the neighborhood parks where my kids play."

The satisfaction is often in the journey…

We took Elizabeth's request to heart and ventured off the trail to the Sherman Oaks, Van Nuys Park.  Normally, we focus our efforts on trail systems, this was both our first venture in a park and our first corporate social responsibility project.  Putting together a successful Clean Trails event takes some elbow grease to implement, but the work is just part of the satisfaction.  It took some effort to coordinate with the Los Angeles Parks and Recreation District. The park is already well-maintained and they had strict rules around when the cleanup could be performed, ensuring that park personnel were on hand during the event, and even requirements around the ratio of children to adults performing the cleanup.  But it was well worth the effort. 

We were surprised by the outcome!

True to Elizabeth's goal of making a big impact in her local park, she assembled over 30 adults and children that collected an estimated 25,000 small pieces of litter.  Enough to fill a 55 gallon drum! The kids loved helping, they treated the event like an easter egg hunt, challenging one another over who could find the most litter.  As mentioned, this was in a well-managed park, but it attests to an eye for detail. So often and unless you are looking, you just don't notice the litter, it blends in to the surroundings.  But, we've learned that areas that are littered become more littered, while areas that are litter-free tend to remain that way. It's all part of the social norms to which we subconsiously adhere. So, the more natural the area is, the more natural it remains.

Volunteer Spotlight – Tara De Vito

Posted on December 18, 2014 by cleantrails

Never one to sit still, native New Yorker, Tara DeVito is dedicated to the Clean Trails effort. Tara is quickly becoming an invaluable member of our Clean Trails team.  Sharing our values of respect for the quality of life that comes with exposure to wild places and spreading our message of encouragement and proactive responsibility for the land.

A former college athlete, Tara is a team player with the determination to succeed. Her love and appreciation for the outdoors dates back to her childhood. Over the years she has covered much of the Adirondacks and the AT. She is well aware of the litter problem on our trails and is eager to get involved with the community to inspire change.  Tara graduated from Bates College in 2005 and works in Finance in Manhattan. She lives in Gramercy with her dog Millie, though they’re both country girls at heart!

According to Earl Nightingale, "Our environment, the world in which we live and work, is a mirror of our attitudes and expectations."

If I see litter, I pick it up. I’m not above that. I have always subscribed to the mentality that no task is too small and no job is too big. Cleaning up our trails is certainly no small task, but it is also not a futile endeavor. When I witness an act of litter, it typically stems from negligence.  People need to be more mindful of their actions and surroundings.  

Clean Trails is on the march; join us!

We're a 501 (c) 3 nonprofit organization aiming to become a nation-wide network of people dedicated to keeping our wild places and the trails that access those spaces free of litter. Study after study shows the highest indicator that someone will pick up litter is if they witness someone else picking up litter. That's because peer group norms are more powerful than incentives, and when worked in concert with each other, they can provide impressive behavioral change impacts.

Core to our beliefs is the notion that people want to do the right things; all they need is a little encouragement or incentive. We believe that people are naturally responsible; if we encourage them to care for their favorite places, to pick up after themselves and others, then our trails will become self-sufficient, clean, and more enjoyable. Our job is to show them the way.

Unplug to Recharge

Posted on December 29, 2014 by Tim Brown

With the pace of today’s workaday world, we need to take time out so that we don’t burn out. Some of us do that by kicking back and putting our feet up; others do it by heading out and picking our feet up—one at a time with a hike.

This past weekend, my wife, five-year-old son, and I went camping on Palomar Mountain. While it is always nice to get away from work, it is especially pleasant to get away from the hustle and bustle that defines our normal lives. They call it civilization; but, it isn’t always civilized. Luckily, our phone service is not strong enough to reach the area; so, technology was not coming with us—a very welcomed and obvious omission.

The crisp air of fall was beckoning. Leaving the city midafternoon provided us with an opportunity to get camp set up early enough so that we could take a stroll before the sun went down. We found the trailhead for the Observatory Trail that leads from the campground to the Palomar Observatory at the top of the mile high peak. Not wanting to over-do it with the kid on the first night, we hiked about a mile until we reached what might be best described as a trailside patio-deck tucked in a clearing between the trees. The vista that it offered was unlike any other that we had experienced in Southern California. Being raised on the East Coast, my wife and I were used to valley meadows surrounded by lush green hillsides; we just hadn’t seen on since moving to California and starting our own family. The glassy ponds in the valley reflected the changing colors of the leaves. The expansive sky hinted at the blanket of stars under which we would sleep that evening.

Back at camp, the chaotic cacophony of cackling co-workers was quickly replaced with the calming combination of crickets chirping and coals crackling in the campfire. As the daylight faded to darkness, the Universe’s vastness introduced itself, star after shining star. We had picked up a nighttime sky activity book for our son at the local general store earlier in the day. With book in hand, we each learned a new constellation before we hit the sack. The promise of no morning alarm clock makes any night’s sleep more restful than it would be otherwise. A one inch foam pad is a pillow-top luxury mattress given the right circumstances; this was one of those nights.

After a breakfast of yogurt and energy bars, we set out on our hike. We were not intending to break any elevation or distance records; the point was to be outside as a family. For us, a hike is pointing out fallen trees that look like alligators, rams heads, or Cheshire Cat’s smile. We bring along an extra bag so that we can collect interesting rocks, acorns, and litter (Seriously—who throws away a Styrofoam cup on a trail? Who even takes a Styrofoam cup on a hike?!! Who hates Nature that much?).

At the top, my wife snaps a picture of my son and me as we stand next to a 5500 elevation marker to record the accomplishment. The observatory museum and gift shop is a few hundred yards away, across a parking lot that held the cars of folks that took the easy way up. In the museum, we learned a lot about how small we really are and how impressive the construction of the observatory was.   We left there to investigate the grounds as we made our way to the observatory. Being blessed with a “severe clear” day—infrequent in Southern California, in the distance we could see Mount San Jacinto towering 10,000 feet into the wide blue sky. Other areas of the property offered views of the surrounding valleys, playful clouds, and Autumn’s changes.

The stroll back down to camp was peppered with a few more acorn-gathering sessions. From the deepest of purples to the most brilliant greens, the acorns mirrored the color palette of the leaves that covered the forest floor as well as those that still clung to branches overhead.

Another night under the canopy of constellations further eased away any tensions from the work week. My foam pad was a king-sized feather bed that night. The next morning, I awoke feeling like Rip Van Winkle after his twenty-year sleep.  Begrudgingly, we packed up the car in preparation for our return to undesirable normalcy. A few more acorns–all dressed in their oaken berets–were gathered so that our son could take some to school for his classroom.  Finally, the key turned the ignition and the sound of the engine reminded us that the weekend was soon to be over. Refreshed and invigorated, we were ready to face what the upcoming week had to offer.

As soon as the Winter weather breaks, we are heading back up!

Sometimes, you have to unplug in order to recharge.

                                                                                         Verbosely yours,