(1) A tiny stream trickles around my toes, and old live oak trees lean over the rock I am sitting on. (2) No one knows I am here except for the blue jay that caws at me from his perch on a branch. (3) I am in my favorite place on Earth, the mountain basin and basalt cliffs behind my house. (4) I am only a couple of miles from a shopping mall, but it feels like I am surrounded by a forest far from civilization.

(5) This basin wasn’t always such a natural paradise. (6) A few years ago, when my family moved to this neighborhood, the canyon was like a garbage dump. (7) Stinky, stagnant pools had formed in the stream. (8) It was clogged with trash left behind by visitors exploring the area. (9) Somehow, as ugly as it was, my family saw its potential.

(10) Our family walked door-to-door in our neighborhood and met people who had never been in the basin or climbed the cliffs. (11) Some of them had lived right next to it for decades but had never hiked down the trails. (12) We met families like ours that wanted to claim their own place in nature. (13) Like us, they didn’t need to climb Mount Everest or go to a national park. (14) They just wanted a place to call their own. (15) Best of all, they were willing to work as hard as they could to make things better.

(16) We worked with all of them to organize basin cleanups in order to get rid of the trash. (17) We climbed down the cliffs into the basin with shovels, trash bags, and spades to remove the trash left by irresponsible explorers. (18) We also used rocks to raise the banks of the stream so that water could flow through the basin once again. (19) Once we were finished, we waited for nature to get to work.

(20) The first year after we cleaned out the bed of the stream, the basin was bare and ugly. (21) But something strange happened. (22) By the end of the year, grass and plants that were hidden by trash began to grow. (23) I’ve always loved the smell of freshly cut grass. (24) The stream began to flow after winter rains, and more animals began to wander into the area to nibble in the clean, grassy basin.

(25) My brother and I went to the stream. (26) My brother was walking at a steady pace, but suddenly he stopped and held up his hand. (27) “Shh,” he whispered. (28) Up ahead about 10 yards, I could see a doe drinking from the creek, her head bent down. (29) I must have stepped on a dry leaf, because suddenly her ears popped up, and she looked right at us. (30) Then she sprang off

Question

(1) A tiny stream trickles around my toes, and old live oak trees lean over the rock I am sitting on. (2) No one knows I am here except for the blue jay that caws at me from his perch on a branch. (3) I am in my favorite place on Earth, the mountain basin and basalt cliffs behind my house. (4) I am only a couple of miles from a shopping mall, but it feels like I am surrounded by a forest far from civilization.

(5) This basin wasn’t always such a natural paradise. (6) A few years ago, when my family moved to this neighborhood, the canyon was like a garbage dump. (7) Stinky, stagnant pools had formed in the stream. (8) It was clogged with trash left behind by visitors exploring the area. (9) Somehow, as ugly as it was, my family saw its potential.

(10) Our family walked door-to-door in our neighborhood and met people who had never been in the basin or climbed the cliffs. (11) Some of them had lived right next to it for decades but had never hiked down the trails. (12) We met families like ours that wanted to claim their own place in nature. (13) Like us, they didn’t need to climb Mount Everest or go to a national park. (14) They just wanted a place to call their own. (15) Best of all, they were willing to work as hard as they could to make things better.

(16) We worked with all of them to organize basin cleanups in order to get rid of the trash. (17) We climbed down the cliffs into the basin with shovels, trash bags, and spades to remove the trash left by irresponsible explorers. (18) We also used rocks to raise the banks of the stream so that water could flow through the basin once again. (19) Once we were finished, we waited for nature to get to work.

(20) The first year after we cleaned out the bed of the stream, the basin was bare and ugly. (21) But something strange happened. (22) By the end of the year, grass and plants that were hidden by trash began to grow. (23) I’ve always loved the smell of freshly cut grass. (24) The stream began to flow after winter rains, and more animals began to wander into the area to nibble in the clean, grassy basin.

(25) My brother and I went to the stream. (26) My brother was walking at a steady pace, but suddenly he stopped and held up his hand. (27) “Shh,” he whispered. (28) Up ahead about 10 yards, I could see a doe drinking from the creek, her head bent down. (29) I must have stepped on a dry leaf, because suddenly her ears popped up, and she looked right at us. (30) Then she sprang off

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