Working Together Along DC’s “Other” River

A few weeks ago, I joined a crew of colleagues from Beaconfire to participate in Ocean Conservancy‘s International Coastal Cleanup. We spent several hours scouring the banks of the Anacostia River, picking up styrofoam, cigar tips, bottles, fishing line, more styrofoam, plastic bags, more cigar tips, food wrapping, more styrofoam, tennis balls, and more cigar tips.

I was struck at how important it was that it was a social thing. The task was pretty nasty, truth be told, but because we did it together, it was kind of fun. I pick up trash when I’m out fishing sometimes, but I would never go out there and diligently focus on it for several hours unless I had some company. Would you?

In my copious collection of market and public opinion research, there are many references to how important social factors are in helping people make the transition from paying lip service to nature protection and pollution control to active involvement in some fashion. Out along the Anacostia, picking up trash with my colleagues, I made a personal connection to those findings.

There are a couple of words that work that are on the list because they help everyday citizens feel like others are pitching in — working together and doing your part.

With that in mind, take a look at this website for Rivers Alive, Georgia’s annual trash-pickup-o-rama.

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