On Saturday, April 14, a group of ForestWatch volunteers teamed up with Figueroa Mountain Brewing Co. Mug Club members and staff to clean up the popular area around Big Falls in the Santa Lucia Wilderness. Together they removed over 150 pounds of trash from along Big Falls Trail and from around a popular swimming area!
After meeting at the Figueroa Mountain Brewing Co. taproom in Arroyo Grande, the crew of 13 volunteers, one baby, and a four-legged long-time ForestWatch volunteer loaded up into a few high clearance vehicles to make the rugged trek to the trailhead. There they stocked up on cleanup supplies and set out into the Santa Lucia Wilderness.
A short hike brought the team to Big Falls, a beautiful waterfall that sees a lot of visitors throughout the year. Our awesome volunteers wasted no time getting into the bushes to remove cans, bottles, flip flops, towels, and diapers that had accumulated around the swimming hole over the years.
A couple of hours later and the group set off back toward the trailhead, leaving the area 150 pounds of trash cleaner. Back at the trailhead, our friends from Figueroa Mountain Brewing Co. busted out a cooler full of Hoppy Poppy, 101, and other delicious Fig. Mtn. brews for the thirsty crew.
Thanks to these incredible volunteers and to Figueroa Mountain Brewing Co. for partnering on this project. They also provided our favorite bags for cleanup hikes: used malt bags from the brewery! We look forward to partnering on another volunteer project later this year. Be sure to visit our Upcoming Projects page to find out about other volunteer opportunities in the Los Padres National Forest.
See below for some more photos from the cleanup:
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