I work with two other girls (one is Aimee, my Kizmato partner) on a blog called Dirty Gourmet. We focus on gourmet outdoor cooking, but our main purpose is to get people to go outside and play more often. Last weekend, we participated in the Mill Creek Clean Up in the San Bernardino National Forest. It’s a gorgeous little area very close to Redlands where I live, but it’s been trashed by tourists who go out there and play throughout the year. We spent a Saturday with the San Gorgonio Wilderness Association cleaning up the area as much as possible. While there, we provided fresh granola for the participants as well as website coupons for Kizmato. This was the first local event that Kizmato has participated in since deciding to focus on our local communities.

There were a lot of very interesting and enthusiastic people there from my town and it was fun to reconnect as well as meet new people. For instance, I met Chris from FUN Artists who sell some very cool T-shirts and artwork from local artists. I also reconnected with Nate from Wild Goose Coffee who are have participated in several efforts to help out their local community.

The event was a success and was a satisfying and fun way to spend a nice spring Saturday. The San Gorgonio Wilderness Association is planning to do another cleanup at the end of the summer to prepare for the snow that would otherwise cover up the trash until the spring. We’ll keep you posted about that in case you’re interested in coming out and helping while discovering an amazing place close to home.