Iceberg Point State Park received a generous helping of thirty-three hours of TLC on Saturday, April 19th. A first look at the shoreline, prior to cleanup, gave little clue to the amount of debris that would be harvested that day. Nonetheless, three hours and eleven volunteers later, the bed of a park service utility truck was filled to capacity with litter bags filled with styrofoam, plastics, and broken glass. Several large, weather-worn pieces of chemically treated ply-wood, and a discarded vehicle tire were also hauled away.

The organizers of the cleanup event were Khorsian Blanc-Ridings, Eli Derzay, Heather Gladstone, and Kim Pascuito. They created the TLC service project as a Lopez-based Earth Day Event. Their collaboration with the Bureau of Land Management and the San Juan Islands National Monument attracted BLM Ranger and LSJI Alum, Nick Teague, whose expert guidance, ready laughter and hands-on support kept the crew safe and effective. The four Lopez graduates of the 2014 Leadership San Juan Islands program (LSJI), were fulfilling a service day component of the course. Additional crew volunteers were: co-cohort member David Harsch (SJI), Hayley Edmonston (Mt. Rainier National Park), Liam Paige (Orcas high school student), and the current LSJI program co-directors Tara Dalton, Lee Taylor, and Morgan Meadows. Much gratitude goes to all these volunteers, as well as Barbara Fulton and Ralph Bladt, for hosting the work crew’s lunch gathering on their land. Ciro Pascuito treated everyone to his homemade wood-fired pizza before the crew, now friends, dispersed to other events and plans for the day.

Please visit www.lsji.org to learn more about local leadership opportunities.