Los Angeles is getting a park cleanup like it’s never seen before, and it’s all thanks to one man, 20-year-old Edgar McGregor.
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Edgar decided to visit his local park, Eaton Canyon, day in and day out to pick up as much litter as he could fit in two buckets. Now, over 589 days and 19,000 Twitter followers later, he is more passionate than ever about his mission to save the planet!
According to NPR, Edgar’s dream was kicked into action when he found out that Los Angeles would be the host of the 2028 Summer Olympic Games.
Knowing the state of the national forest at the time, he feared that its litter-infested grounds would make the city a “global embarrassment,” so he decided to make cleaning it up his new passion project.
As time went on, he began documenting his progress on Twitter, amassing thousands of supporters in the process. Soon, he began encouraging others to start park cleanup projects of their own, using the hashtag “EarthCleanUp.”
As part of southern California’s Angeles National Forest, Eaton Canyon can see quite a bit of daily foot traffic. On one particularly busy day, Edgar spent a whopping five hours picking up garbage and came away with over 1,000 pounds of trash.
“Every single day I wake up and can’t wait to go on my daily trash pickups,” he wrote. “Maybe it is because I am autistic and can really connect with nature, but I seriously love these things.”
Rain or shine, Edgar headed over to fulfill his duties. He worked through conditions like snowstorms, a record heat wave, and even a forest fire on the opposite side of the park.
“Whether it was 117 degrees or if it was raining ash and the mountains were on fire, or if it was pouring down rain, it didn’t matter,” Edgar said.
Not only that, but he would also begin his cleanups after finishing a 12-hour warehouse shift. But for Edgar, it wasn’t a chore. It was a joy and a privilege.
As time went on, he was able to measure the scope of his progress by revisiting areas he’d already cleaned and assessing their current state.
“Some places were very dirty, but if I returned to them months later, they were still clean,” Edgar told NPR. “Other places would get dirty every single week, and I’d need to clean them up dozens of times per year.”
The more he did, the more treasures he discovered. In addition to a bunch of old iPhones and cans dating back to the ’70s, Edgar collected enough recyclables to earn around $30 dollars every few weeks, which he would donate to nonprofits.
Toward the beginning of March 2021, Edgar began noticing that the top litter areas in his park were becoming few and far between. At one point, he spent four hours wandering around the park and only returned with two bucketfuls.
“For the first time in 589 days, I can say with confidence that my park, Eaton Canyon … is completely free of municipal waste,” Edgar announced.
Though he realizes this doesn’t mean his journey is complete, he is ecstatic to have reached this major milestone!
Edgar plans to return to Eaton Canyon two or three times a week to keep up with the maintenance, but he is excited to start expanding his reach to new locations.
“When I officially declare my park clean, I will move to other parks nearby 3-4 days a week,” Edgar wrote. “They are in dire straits and seriously need my help.”
To continue kindling his passion for the world around him, Edgar plans to begin meteorology studies at San José State University in the fall with an emphasis in climate science.
Until then, we all know right where to find him: transforming Los Angeles one park at a time!
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