Flat tires, leather jackets and sleeping bags were some of the items found on March 20 at the third annual San Diego Mesa College’s Canyon Day clean up.

This day was held by Tecolote Canyon Natural Park Ranger Janice Lavelle and Mesa College Professors Don Barrie and Bill Brothers. There were hundreds of students volunteering from local high schools such as Kearny, Mission Bay, and Mira Mesa. There were also volunteers from Mesa, Miramar, and City College in attendance.

Some volunteers worked at Canyon Day to take care of the wildlife while some came to learn about the canyon’s ecosystem but others like San Diego-local and volunteer Aaron Labovitz helped out at Canyon Day just because they were tired of looking at all the trash in the canyon.

“I take a hike and walk down here all the time,” said Labovitz. “I see a lot of trash.”

Tecolote Canyon is a vital part of San Diego’s ecosystem and it is important to keep it clean otherwise it can lead to irreversible habitat damage.

“[We’re] cleaning the canyon to keep the trash from going into Mission Bay and eventually to the ocean,” said Brothers.

Wildlife that lives in Tecolote Canyon such as the Riparian corridor, Leasts Bells Viro, Gnats Catchers, and the Coastal Sage Scrub are endangered due to habitat destruction.

“Most life habitat has been replaced by pavement, homes, and overall development,” said Barrie.

Although Canyon Day was a lot of work on a hot spring day, the students were able to take pride in knowing they helped Mother Nature for a day. One student even asked Prof. Barrie for ten extra-credit points for finding a tire.

Students learned about red-tail hawks that commonly fly in Tecolote Canyon and how to stay away from poison oak. According to Prof. Brothers, “leaves of three, let it be.”

Within the last three years there has been a significant change in the amount of trash scattered throughout the canyon. Barrie has noticed how less colorful Tecolote has been the past few years due to increased pollution.

“Last year we pulled twelve shopping carts out of the canyon,” said Barrie.

Among other odd items pulled out of the canyon, Brothers found a human vertebra that had been bleached white by the sun.

By the end of the clean up, no other signs of a human carcass were found and only a greener canyon and a cleaner place to hike through could be seen.

Although this is only the third year Canyon Day has been in effect, it has gained an immensely larger number of volunteers since its exhibition. And the people who have participated in Canyon Day since the first year have seen a vivid change in the canyon ecosystem.