Since highschool, I've always loved running through nature and the various hiking trails around my area. Even when I wasn't running, I would d go through these areas just for the tranquil feeling it gives me. However, the more I explored these existing and new locations, I'd see increasing amounts of trash left from other hikers and runners who traversed these trails. I did what I could to pick up any trash I saw, and one day I decided to take an even bigger step into improving my community. I joined the California State Park Foundation's Park Champions program, a program that aims to improve the quality of our beautiful state parks in California. By working in teams with other volunteers as young as six years old, we would all gather on a
