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The River Rules

25 years or so, Lewis MacAdams began a 40-year project to restore the Los Angeles river. What began as a performance art piece has grown into a movement called Friends of The Los Angeles River, an organization that works to educate, restore, and connect. Think of it as a painting on a 52-mile canvas.

I went, along with my family and the students from the Los Angeles Leadership Academy, to the 20th Anniversary of La Gran Limpieza - the Great Clean-up. We wanted to get our hands dirty picking up the trash that Angelenoes dump on the street, almost all of which ends up in the river.

Here is the actual "clean-up" part of the clean-up. While tackling trash in the islands of the Glendale Narrows, we found this strange sculpture made out of urban remains: toys, computers and tires.

Treasure at the River

After a few hours of serious hard labor, we were rewarded with the sight of natural spring water bubbling up to the surface.

Soaring Water

Yeah.... the river rules.

The River Rules Clean-up

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