Community Spotlight: Ken Sala
Ken Sala is a 70-year-old Stream Team Leader with a deep history of protecting the environment. He dedicated 31 years of his life to the federal government in Washington, DC, with the last 21 years in the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Office of Research and Development. He was classified as a Senior Physical Scientist and he holds a B.S. in Geology (1971) and an MPA in Public Administration (1978) from the University of Oklahoma.
For the past seven years, he worked in the feild as a volunteer with Rock Creek Conservancy to preserve the local environment here in his home: Washington, D.C. Volunteering to clean up our creek isn’t always pretty, and Ken has seen a lot in his time as a Stream Team Leader. Read on to see Rock Creek through Ken’s eyes.
Does Ken’s story inspire you? You’re just in time to sign up to be a site leader for our Extreme Cleanup! You might find out you like it, and decide to join us as a Stream Team Leader yourself! Find our more here.
When did you first get involved with Rock Creek Conservancy?
“I was the first RCC Stream Team Leader for the section called “Mouth of Rock Creek,” beginning in the fall of 2010 until the fall of 2017. (Mouth of Rock Creek extends from the mouth of Rock Creek where it flows into the Potomac River up to the P Street Bridge,) I led seven Extreme Cleanups at the Mouth of Rock Creek and numerous other smaller cleanups and invasive plant removal activities during those seven years. I retired from EPA in January 2009.”
Why did you become a Stream Team Leader?
“After retirement, I wanted to continue being involved in improving the environment by volunteering for some environmental project in the community. Walt Grazier and I met with Joan Furlong, the first FORCE (RCC) volunteer coordinator, in the fall of 2007 and we decided to become co-stream team leaders for the Mouth of Rock Creek. Walt bowed out after two years, and I continued alone. Walt and I saw the area as “challenging” and we took it on. It was filled with trash, had resident homeless people around and very little residential housing in the section.”
What was challenging about the Mouth of Rock Creek section?
“First, the physical challenges were numerous and unique. In only a few spots could you walk up to the water. Most areas had steep banks, and some had large boulder rip-rap. The mouth of the creek was about 75 feet wide and 13 feet deep, and up the creek, it could be 10 feet wide and three feet deep.
We needed canoes to catch floating trash in the middle of the stream and to gather up floating trash below steep banks. For most of the seven years, we got the Thompson’s Boat Center to loan us one or two canoes. Bear in mind that trash floating in the water will flow out into the Potomac River. Early on, Walt and I determined that we needed to have two focal points — the areas around Thompson Boat Center and the higher banks on the east side of Rock Creek Parkway. We were cognizant of the “showplace” nature of the park areas around the Thompson Boat Center and near the Swedish Embassy. These were more public areas that should always look good.”
“Under low-hanging bushes was decades of trash and recyclable materials that required years of excavation to remove. We started finding numerous bike frames in the underbrush and then realized that the area was used by bike thieves to dispose of the frames after they had stripped off brakes, gears and other expensive accessories. Homeless people, many of them hoarders, had carried items to the mouth area (e.g., backpacks, office chairs, clothes, things they might find in alleys) and leave them there after they moved on. We had to deal with human feces, needles, and used condoms. We averaged a 1,000 pounds of trash taken out the first three years of the seven-year term. “
How did you build a stream team in an urban setting?
For the entire seven-year period, I only had about 5–8 people that were regulars. We estimated that we needed 30–35 people to clean up both areas. Fortunately, student groups found us on the RCC website and volunteered. Karen Zeiter and John Maleri kept our site in mind and sent individuals our way. Besides student groups, the Park Hyatt Hotel, a rowing club, and a scuba diving club got involved. We always had at least 25 people for each Extreme Cleanup.
Ken retired from his role as Stream Team Leader in 2018 to focus on personal health. However, his passion still drives the work at the “Mouth of Rock Creek.” There is no doubt that his seven years of hard work and dedication has made a difference in an area that many people see every day. Many sites, like Ken’s, still need volunteers and site leaders for the Extreme Cleanup, April 14, 2018. If you’re interested in getting involved, head to bit.ly/Extreme2018 for more details.
Make an impact this April and sign up to be a Stream Team Leader or volunteer with Rock Creek Conservancy.
