Want to live in a nice place? Why not make it that way?

Thanks to generous contributions of equipment and tools, the cooperation and support of the City of Wayne Administration and our fine volunteers we had a great time working outside today!

Let's take a look at what was going on.

Right out of the gate we found a 'Big Joe' which is some sort of softy chair. It is loaded with tiny styrofoam beads. These can be deadly to birds and other animals. They look just like yummy seeds. This is a case of getting attention for all the wrong reasons! Well, we packed up the 'Big Joe' and sent it on its way!

The reason we got into this 'Emergency Cleanup' was because our good friends at 'Friends of the Rouge' had come through the city and planted lots and lots of native tree saplings! They did that and - as time would have it - windblown trash and other items started making its way towards the newly planted brink of trees. When we saw that happening we swung into action!

In the following image we see a very small part of the slope this material was on. It is about 40 feet down to the bottom of the area and all along that expanse for more than a mile a large amount of refuse had collected. This image is a before photo.

Work, work, work and like magic it was gone!

Well, it wasn't like magic. We used a set of tools and equipment that had been donated to us by caring neighbors and fellow citizens. We were working in 30 degree temperatures and bundled up accordingly. The slope is gentle in some places and steep in others. Attention and technique go hand in hand when doing this work. It's also great exercise!

The next two photos are before and after photos as well. In this case you can see a 30 foot down portion of the slope. From the flat top we started at, which is a sidewalk alongside a State Highway, the slope continues down 30 feet at this point where the land flattens out. There are vernal ponds in the area. In this case the pond you see at the top of the photo is around all year except in extremely dry times at which the ground is still moist.

The concerns we had here were the fact that not only were there paper and cardboard we also encountered metal, empty chemical containers - like coolant, oil and others. What magnifies the concern, of course, is that, as mentioned before, this goes along this way for more than a mile.

At the bottom of the slope more materials collect and eventually make their way into the river which is just beyond the pond.

Let's take a look!

During this work we encountered a lot of plastic. Some of it was very old. Wherever it was - there was decided reduction in plant life.

The work we were doing took this stream of material and removed it from the scene. The damage it caused will take time to repair but at least the process has begun. Let's see some after pictures!

In the image above we again see the entire portion of the slope we were working on. This was not one of the worst section. We cleared this out to give us access to the pond below so we could inspect it and not trail further material down to it. Everything has a purpose and a time. In this case - it's time to clean up the natural environment!

In the above image we see the bottom of the slope a little closer. The area has been cleared. Lots of material taken away and now we have path down to the pond and another point to return to as we work both east and west to clear the rest.

Let's take a look at another issue. That is the Impermeable Problem and an unnatural Uniculture.

A Uniculture can form in a biome if certain limitations or special abilities are in play. In this case - short grass that grows quickly was planted to stop erosion. It is a surface plant and has taken over most of the slope. That's generally okay but why haven't other plants come to compete? In this case we see that deep rooting plants or plants that need to spring up from under the grass cannot because the plastic layer is stopping it. The plastic layer is not put there on purpose. It arrived there by wind or someone tossed it out of a car or an open truck drove by and it escaped.

Let's take a look at an example.

The Impermeable Layer!

Oh, no!

What is that?

That's a layer on or in the ground that does not allow rainwater or other water to pass through it. A roadway is an Impermeable Layer. So is a sidewalk. Most grass that we see is also an Impermeable Layer. The pavement, cement or tightly clumped grass absorbs very little water and sheds the rest.

That means it just goes flowing off somewhere else. That somewhere else can be drainage pipes or channels and, of course, natural waterways. It all ends up in local rivers, ponds and lakes - even the ocean on the coasts.

This is not good for many reasons. One being that it is unnatural.

The natural manner that water makes its way into the natural water system is by falling from the sky, and, when over land, being absorbed by the land until the land is saturated. Then surface flow may begin. The amount of water than land can absorb and slowly transport to local waterways is extraordinary. The numbers are gigantically huge.

An example of the immensity of the action is that we are looking into cleaning river water. The first problem we were faced with is - how do we clean millions of gallons of water? We don't know yet, but, we'll get to it. Can you think of a way? Let us know!

Let's take a look at an example of what an unnatural impermeable material can do to a living system. In this it's a piece of cardboard. Please keep in mind that were not only encountering cardboard but plastics, metals and manufactured wood products!

That's what we have for you now.

Thanks for joining us!