On the morning of March 11, under sunny skies and blessedly unseasonably warm temperatures, a cadre of Beaumont-Wilshire residents gathered at the public stairwell on NE 43th between Alameda and Wisteria to get down and dirty. Their mission? To perform the several-times-a-year work needed to keep the stairwell free of natural debris—and unnatural trash—that accumulates during the winter season.
Started in 2014, the annual cleanup effort was spearheaded by Dave Whitaker, who at the time served on the BWNA board. In 2016 volunteers planted around 500 native plants with help from SOLVE.
This year, armed with clippers, rakes, muscle power, and good humor, the group tackled the project with gusto. Now, those who traverse the hillside via those stairs will find it a more welcoming pathway.
Thank you to volunteers Dave Whitaker, Steve Walker, Perry Colclasure, John and Kathy Sandie, and Peter and Nancy Mogielnicki for stepping up (and down!) to clean the stairwell.
Thanks also to Mike and Kristin Butler, adjacent property owners on NE Wistaria, who do some summer watering and allow Dave to use their yard debris bin when he performs minor weeding several times a year.