Vallejo runners hold monthly cleanups for hiking trails

VALLEJO – A group of Vallejo residents are working to clean up the running, hiking, and biking trails around Vallejo in the hopes of promoting civic mindedness and beautifying the city’s natural landscapes.

Erin McGarry started the group, called Rooted Vallejo, in November. McGarry moved to Vallejo four years ago after growing up in San Antonio, Texas, and Oakland and runs an educational toy company with her husband. 

McGarry was interested in getting more involved with the community when she moved here. She and her friends applied to different city commissions, and in August she was sworn in as one of the newest members of the beautification commission, which works to improve the overall appearance of the city and its spaces. 

Vallejo is often maligned for being full of trash. On SeeClickFix, the city website where residents can alert staff about non-emergency issues, there are over 150 open service requests about illegal dump sites around the city. On social media, residents often share drone footage of garbage that has accumulated around the city’s wetland areas or video evidence of individuals illegally offloading waste near homeless encampments. 

The city holds large community cleanups every quarter, but being on the commission showed McGarry that residents were interested in seeing more frequent cleanups — and also looking for ways that they could contribute. 

“Vallejoans are allowed to call in during the beautification meetings, and a few were people very interested in volunteering their time,” she said.

McGarry had a broad goal of wanting to clean up the city, but the idea to specifically focus on the running trails didn’t happen until she reached out to her friends at the Vallejo Run Club. 

One of them was Jason Huynh, who suggested that Rooted Vallejo should initially focus on beautifying where people hike and bike. As runners, they were already familiar with the areas that needed to be cleaned up, and they knew that the trails were public spaces that people could immediately take advantage of if they just looked a little nicer. 

“We wanted to make it safer and more accessible to more people, and encourage others to get out there and use it,” said Huynh.  

They were especially encouraged by this mission after attending the March ribbon cutting ceremony for the Napa Valley Vine Trail — a 47-mile walking and biking path that starts at the Vallejo Ferry Building and winds its way through Napa all the way to Calistoga. The project started 15 years ago and aims to encourage people to explore both Solano and Napa counties. 

Rooted Vallejo held their first cleanup in November with 10 people. At the second event, they had 19 volunteers, and they cleaned up the wetlands area of the Napa Valley Vine Trail by Highway 37. They picked up trash, dumped overgrown weeds into wheelbarrows, and pulled out two truck tires abandoned in the mud.

One of the volunteers, Edgar Ramirez, learned of the cleanups through the run club. He said it feels meaningful to be able to clean up the areas that are close to where he works and lives.

“Vallejo is a nice city,” said Ramirez. “We get a bad rap sometimes. But I’m hoping that this helps spread the word that there's good people out there who want to make the city great.”

Vallejo teacher Sara Gaitan also learned about Rooted Vallejo through the club. She said the run club has organized their own cleanup efforts before, but doing it under the Rooted Vallejo banner allows them to have more partnerships and reach. 

“Every time I bring up the cleanups or post them on Instagram, someone goes ‘Oh, let me know when the next one is, I love doing things like that,’” said Gaitan. “So the intention is there, and they just need direction and information.” 

There’s also a social element to these cleanups: after each event they go to lunch together, always frequenting local businesses like Good Day Cafe or Provisions.

“You’re getting something more out of it than just picking up trash,” said McGarry. “You’re also getting the benefit of building friendships and feeling like you’re more with the community.” 

McGarry acknowledges that cleaning up one area a month might feel like putting a bandaid over a much larger problem. 

Urban trash management and homelessness are often interconnected issues. According to last year’s point-in-time count, there are over 700 unhoused residents in Vallejo, but the city’s low-income housing projects and homeless shelters only cover roughly half of that number. Encampment sweeps temporarily clean up an area, but when people have no place to go to — and no facilities to use — garbage tends to accumulate again wherever people settle. 

McGarry said the long-term solution for these issues is providing more housing and resources. “If you kick someone out of one area, they still need access and a place to live,” she said. 

But while the city brainstorms on how to provide more housing options, McGarry said residents can work on improving the city in their own ways, too. 

“If all of us just do a little bit at a time, it does make a difference,” said McGarry. 

She hopes the cleanups will help people to shift their thinking around how they can invest in their own community.

Even though it’s up to the city to do the major cleanups, McGarry said it’s ok to have the mindset that if you see trash, you can just pick it up and toss it. 

“Yes, you’re not the one who threw it down, but it benefits everyone to toss it, rather than see it as someone else's problem,” said McGarry. “Saying ‘I’m going to go a little out of my way and just clean up the trash around me because it benefits me, my neighbors, everyone.’ I think that little mind switch is a good thing.” 

Long term, McGarry hopes that Rooted Vallejo will expand beyond just cleanups and work on other projects that enhance public spaces, like art installations, tiny libraries, and community gardens.

Their goal for this year is to get a Clean California community designation, which would include recognition on a state website and access to national grant opportunities.

Rooted Vallejo holds cleanups on the second Sunday of every month. Their next cleanup is Sunday from 9 a.m.-11 a.m at the corner of Broadway and Mini Drive.