Rock Creek Reset: Bison Outside’s Stewardship Outing
On October 5th, as the fall colors began to brighten Washington, D.C., Jazmine Harry and I, Kiera Hale, hosted our first stewardship outing at Rock Creek Park as National Park Trust College Ambassadors. The event was organized through Bison Outside, our on-campus organization that we lead together. We’re also proud to serve as HBCU Outside Ambassadors!
To celebrate National Public Lands Day, Bison Outside decided to give back to our city’s largest forest with a litter clean-up event called Rock Creek Reset. Rock Creek Park is a 1,754-acre city park located in the heart of our nation’s capital. Rock Creek Reset was a collaboration between Bison Outside and Howard University’s Halo GREEN Garden, an on-campus student garden and community space. We also partnered with Rock Creek Conservancy to plan this event, and we’re very grateful that they provided us with cleanup materials and event planning guidance.
Due to an unforeseen date change, many attendees who originally registered were unable to attend. Nonetheless, the five students who came out to volunteer did fantastic work to take care of one of DC’s most important green spaces. We drove to Rock Creek Park and spent an hour and a half cleaning litter from the Piney Branch Trail and Mini-Oasis. We found cardboard, plastic, and other assorted waste, which we promptly placed into our trash bags. Although it was worrisome to see the amount of trash left by visitors, it made the cleanup of the park even more rewarding.
We originally chose to lead a litter cleanup of Rock Creek Park simply because we wanted to support the health of a local green space. But this event became even more impactful in light of the government shutdown. Because the National Park Service manages Rock Creek Park, there will be no staff on duty to handle trash, prevent damage to grounds by visitors who go off-trail, or provide updated safety information during the shutdown. Due to this, we had to use my car to transport our trash bags to an off-site dumpster. If we hadn’t been there to pick up the trash or even to dispose of it properly, the health of the park’s ecosystem would have suffered. Moments like this remind us of the importance of community service in collectively caring for the lands that breathe life into our city. In a tumultuous time, this event felt like a constructive and healing way to make a positive difference. This sentiment was echoed by the other student volunteers, who shared that this event felt rewarding and rejuvenating. The National Park Trust played a huge role in providing us with planning support to make this event happen. We deeply appreciate the National Park Trust’s support for allowing us to make a positive change in our community. We can’t wait to host bigger and better outings in the coming weeks!
