Heal the Ocean Cleans Abandoned Forest Homeless Camp
By Heal the Ocean (HTO)
HTO Field Advisor Harry Rabin coordinated a massive cleanup of an abandoned homeless encampment in Los Padres National Forest that took place on two days, June 13 and 23, 2022. A group of community volunteers who live in the surrounding area worked with Harry and Andrew Velikanje of Earthcomb to remove 6.81 tons of trash within the forest.
Trash collected included everything from mattresses, appliances, and furniture to large amounts of cardboard, plastics, and wood pieces. Volunteers filled two large trash roll-off dumpsters in just two days. Thank you, MarBorg Industries, for quickly delivering the roll-offs to the site to help us clean up this source of environmental harm.
And big thanks to Harry and Andrew - and the Los Padres community members for working so hard to keep our environment clean and safe!
Before the cleanup
The site after 6.81 tons of trash was removed. (Photos by Harry Rabin, On the Wave Production_
15 Comments
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Jun 30, 2022 07:26 AMCalifornia has road side signs that say "$1,000 fine for littering." But if someone camps beside their litter near the freeway, that violation is apparently forgiven. In fact, litter accumulates to an even greater degree. Then good-hearted souls volunteer to remove the litter and the campers move to a new area. I don't understand why this problem can never be resolved.
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Jun 29, 2022 02:35 PMWe need to acknowledge that bike paths in California are always going to be prime homeless encampments. Every single bike path by a river in California is infested with encampments filled with trash, needles human waste. And it isn’t limited to California. Austin Texas has massive problem. But just go on YouTube and search for LA or Orange County river homeless camps and you’ll see. They lead to fires and toxic pollution of the freshwater that is used for wells and our food supply. And yes it ultimately can drain to the sea. Thank you to the non profit for Doug. This but it really put to be done by the County and the state who encourages more and more homeless to come to California vs most other states.
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Jun 29, 2022 03:21 PM@KKSYV It's a sad state of affairs in this country, particularly in California, when we need more bike paths and access to bike only roads, that they have become "free rein" for the vagrants and drug abusers... I just came back from Western Europe where bike paths are the norm and heavily used- ZERO vagrants and drug addicts. They have FORCED rehab... We can thank the ACLU for much of our vagrant issues.
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Jun 29, 2022 12:05 PMThank you!!!!
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Jun 29, 2022 12:00 PMThat might explain the sudden migration to the bike path about 1/2 mile north and east of Goleta Beach. New tents and umbrellas are popping up in the woods.
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Jun 29, 2022 11:11 AMThis effort (on Stagecoach road) was all envisioned, organized, and conducted by the residents of Stagecoach Rd. & Paradise Canyon.
A big thank you to Heal the Ocean for funding the cost of the roll-off dumpsters...
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Jun 29, 2022 07:44 AMSanta Barbara County has a massive workforce and should clean up all the homeless camps without delay. This shouldn't be left for volunteer groups to do. What do they spend our tax dollars on?
Hotel rooms for vagrants?
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Jun 29, 2022 06:31 AMThank you
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Jun 28, 2022 09:07 PMNoticed today as I drove through SB on the 101 that Caltrans was cutting down lots of foliage. I know it is an effort to get rid of homeless hiding spots. But I thought what a shame, that the very lush freeway easements in our area have to be decimated to keep the city from burning down. I felt weary to see it being done. How can the homeless dictate what our community is going to look like to the passing motorists. What is wrong here. Please, Randy, do something.
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Jun 28, 2022 06:24 PMwhere exactly was this? LPNF is a huge area - it would sort of be nice to know where the camp was.
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Jun 28, 2022 04:47 PMThere are many "Grow Camps" that are in our Los Padres backcountry, especially near the New Cuyama area... Most are supported by Mexican cartels that use gnarly chemicals and pesticides to keep deer and other wildlife out of the grows as well as dangerous fertilizers that are not sold here in the U.S. The pesticides are so poisonous, that rangers, hikers and those cleaning up the damage caused, need to be vigilant about decontaminating their boots and clothing...
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Jun 28, 2022 08:15 PMThey refer to it as a “homeless camp,” but my first thought was “grow camp.” I wonder…
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Jun 28, 2022 01:48 PMIt’s great to see these “camps” cleaned up. We need to help the people who inhabited them clean up by as well by starting them on treatment programs for drug addiction. It’s a long and challenging path, but I believe that we could successfully transition many of these poor souls back to a healthy and productive life in recovery.
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Jun 28, 2022 01:48 PMWhile cleaning the camps doesn't solve the social problems related to homelessness, I applaud HTO for its effort on helping solve the environmental problems.
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Jun 28, 2022 01:43 PMNeed to start a "Heal The Lands".