This last Saturday, September 28, 2024, community members converged on multiple Mendocino County waterways targeting areas inundated by refuse. Volunteers did not just find simple trash to pick up but entire makeshift communities built by the Ukiah Valley’s unhoused population directly in vulnerable waterways. In the end, thousands of pounds of waste were pulled from local riparian habitats. Volunteers met at Low Gap Park at 8:30 am to sign in for the Ukiah Valley Russian River Cleanup. … The Mendocino County Resource Conservation District (MCRCD) organized the event, along with Redwood Waste Solutions, the County of Mendocino, and the City of Ukiah.  Jessica Reid of the MCRCD told the volunteers that picking up trash in the tributaries of the Upper Russian River Watershed is important in keeping the river clean on its long journey to meet the sea.