[New post] Yolo Audubon members clean up Babel Slough
Robyn Dobson posted: "The Yolo Audubon Society recently completed a highly successful cleanup at Babel Slough. Spanning 3.5 miles through the agricultural fields of the Clarksburg area, Babel Slough is one of Yolo County's top birding hotspots, serving as a haven for migrat" Daily Democrat
The Yolo Audubon Society recently completed a highly successful cleanup at Babel Slough.
Spanning 3.5 miles through the agricultural fields of the Clarksburg area, Babel Slough is one of Yolo County's top birding hotspots, serving as a haven for migratory flycatchers, vireos, warblers, buntings, tanagers, grosbeaks and wood ducks.
Yolo Audubon collaborated with Clarksburg landowner Mark Wilson and Yolo County Supervisor Oscar Villegas to organize the cleanup on Nov. 11.
"We are grateful that the Yolo Audubon Society offered to clean up portions of the Babel Slough area in Clarksburg," Villegas said. "These types of volunteer group cleanup efforts are critical to protecting the waterways from contamination and support the existing bird habitats residing in the Delta from hazardous conditions."
Equipped with buckets, plastic bags, safety vests and "grabbers" loaned from the Cache Creek Conservancy and Davis Picks It Up and a dumpster from Yolo County landfill that was arranged by Villegas, 15 Yolo Audubon members scoured the steep banks of the slough for garbage.
"Among the many discarded cans and bottles, a large amount of metal scrap was unearthed, including a car engine, a refrigerator, and even an ATM machine," stated a press release from Yolo Audubon. "The refrigerator had to be chained and dragged up the slope using two trucks and lots of people power."
The group also collected 10 trash bags of recyclables and several containers of garden pesticides.
"All in all, the day was a great achievement with the dumpster full of trash and 30 tires taken to the landfill," the press release continued.
This marked the second cleanup spearheaded by Wilson. In 2017 he worked with CalRecycle's Farm and Ranch Cleanup program and the Yolo County Resource Conservation District to secure a grant.
Crews from the Sacramento Regional Conservation Corps were hired to clean up the slough. This three-stage project removed massive amounts of trash from the slough, including 168 tires. However, since the 2017-2019 cleanup, large quantities of trash have continued to be dumped, necessitating this year's cleanup.
Wilson commented that he hopes they can organize to have an annual cleanup event at the slough in the future.
"It was a pleasure to help such great community organizations with resources to aid in their larger effort," Villegas emphasized. "Their volunteer spirit to spend a day working to aid our rural communities is commendable."
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