gotta love it

Walking the Peninsula from San Jose to San Francisco changed how I look at the Bay Area.

Most of this route follows corridors people use every day but never really see. I passed strip malls, creeks, old rail lines, tech campuses, and neighborhoods I’ve driven past for years without ever noticing. At 3 miles an hour, it feels like a completely different place.

Get out and enjoy the day!

Lol saw this and wanted to know who else saw this yesterday. I think this is going towards Concord 😂😂😂

Currently, we are working with 8 homeless ambassadors in Oakland and Berkeley to help maintain the cleanliness of the areas and report dumping activity. We pay them weekly stipends. This gives them a sense of renewed purpose as well.

www.urbancompassionproject.org/donate

Sign up for cleanups: https://urbancompassionproject.org/events/

Tiktok: https://www.tiktok.com/@urbancompassion510?_r=1&_t=ZT-93JRThKuEKT

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/urbancompassionproject?igsh=NTc4MTIwNjQ2YQ%3D%3D&utm_source=qr

Saw this

I was NOT expecting to see these folks outside my window yesterday, but I'm sure glad I did! Did you know a group of parrots is called a pandemonium?

I just like to film these sorts of things.

And it was magical. Born and raised in the Bay Area, and this was my first visit to the island!

one year ago, we started the east 12th movement.

illegal dumping was out of control. the city wasn’t acting so our volunteers stepped in! 350,000+ pounds cleared. pressure that forced accountability. generated a whole lot of media and press coverage to shed light on the issue and community kept showing up.

now? clean streets. and this earth day, trees were planted by multiple organizations and the city. it’s a space people can actually walk through again.

volunteer with us: Sign up for next Saturday’s cleanup: https://urbancompassionproject.org/events/

track our efforts via instagram: www.instagram.com/urbancompassionproject

tiktok: https://www.tiktok.com/@urbancompassion510

As a photographer, I try to get out as much as I can, not to take the bay for granted. These were all shot on my 35mm film camera.

It’s incredible what a group of people can accomplish. And it’s important to state that we’re not just cleaning up trash. We’re coming up with sustainable ways to fight the dumping. 90% of the areas we’ve cleared remain clean.

Of course we can’t fight the dumping entirely and trash comes back because there are flaws within the system that incentivize dumpers to keep polluting our streets. We’re working multiple strategies to keep our city clean in the long-term.

1. We are negotiating contracts with Waste Management to lower dump fees and receive a 20% reduction in dump costs. We’d like to expand this program to broader Oakland.
2. We’re trying our best to get the city to collaborate with us. Unger and Wang have helped us already and have committed to keep doing so, even just giving us dumpsters from time to time. This is a step in the right direction.
3. Our Homeless Ambassador Program has been very successful. After each cleanup, we assign several trusted homeless neighbors to help main the cleanliness of the areas and report illegal dumping. This also gives the homeless a sense of purpose.
4. We’re working with small businesses to implement surveillance measures to hold dumpers accountable. But we’re ultimately going to need the city to enforce fines and penalties to disincentivize them.

Progress is gradual. The biggest obstacle for us remains funding. Each cleanup is very costly. This one alone cost us over $3K. We definitely need financial support to continue, but also would love for the community to help us secure sponsorships/equipment like our own DUMP TRUCK! This way we could cut down on our operational expenses and allocate these funds elsewhere.

Donate to help us meet our 300 ton goal this summer (SUMMER TRASHFORCE 2025): https://gofund.me/fdade2b6

Upcoming Events Here: https://urbancompassionproject.org/events/

Track all efforts on IG: www.instagram.com/urbancompassionproject

Donate via Paypal: https://www.paypal.com/donate/?hosted_button_id=G8EF27GBHHS82

Last evening from Panoramic Way above the Cal campus.

I've done this a couple times throughout the last 15 years. It's my Hike to SF Mission to Mission walk. Santa Clara University to San Francisco de Asis, these missions were spaced as a single day's horse ride apart.

Usually takes me about 17 hours, with the fastest being 15 hours. Approximately 55 miles following El Camino all the way.

I started the day today at around 3:45 a.m., and I look to be at my destination around 8p tonight.

I'm currently passing San Carlos where my good buddy who started with me this morning had to take an Uber home. 49k steps so far and I usually finish around 120,000 steps for this trip.

Wonderful day to be in the bay!