Modesto Volunteers Strive To Clear Trash In Community For Better and Cleaner Future
MODESTO (CBS13) - Getting down and dirty at Modesto parks and trailheads is something that David Down and his fellow volunteers at RoamLost enjoy.
They hope to clear out as much trash as they can one piece at a time.
"When we'd come into our local areas like parks, you know like Dry Creek Regional Park and Tuolumne River, you'd just see it everywhere we'd go," Down, the founder of RoamLost, said. "And it's not getting any better."
In 2019, Down created the organization after the birth of his son. The mission of RoamLost is to keep trash out of the land and other resources to make places like Modesto a better and cleaner place for the future.
Their latest cleanups from Monday and Tuesday resulted in more than 3,000 pounds of trash, bringing the group's total of more than 5,100 pounds of trash collected so far.
Trash ranges from tires to tarps to TVs among other items.
"With the cleanups that we're doing right now, we followed the Tuolumne River all the way down to San Joaquin and all of that trash goes down into I want to say Miller Lake down in Fresno," Down said. "And that ends up going into our oceans."
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The goal and view of the organization may be bigger than just Modesto, but people there are glad there's someone clearing all that clutter.
"It's fantastic. I applaud them. They're doing a lot of good work, and I wish more people would do that," Marina Rivera said.
That's the ultimate goal for Down and his organization.
Clean for the future and inspire others to do the same.
"I believe in presence. I believe in effort. And, I think when you show those two things in areas that you're trying to focus on. I think a lot of times things will just come together," Down said.
Down told CBS13 a majority of their efforts will be focused on Modesto for right now.
He eventually hopes to work with more community partners to expand cleanups to Sacramento and the Bay Area.
