A Plano man is leaning on his community for assistance to beautify a creek in his neighborhood.
Chad Ford said the area of White Rock Creek behind his home looks like a disaster zone, polluted with plastic bags and bottles.
“It’s horrible," Ford said. "It looks like Hurricane Katrina just hit down here."
Ford moved to his apartment complex near Headquarters Drive and Preston Road because of the nearby creek and nature trails.
But when he went down there with his dog, he was stunned.
“I’ve seen old diapers," Ford said. "I’ve seen sanitary products."
"It could be a pretty nature walk. But it’s not. It’s a plastic walk,” he said kicking a pile of trash out of his way.
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Ford thought he could clean the mess, but after weeks of trying, he’s barely made a dent.
“I thought, you know what, I’m going to just kind of community service," Ford said. "Just start cleaning this up. Maybe if other people see I’m doing this, maybe they’d like to do it too.”
NBC 5 contacted city officials in Plano who said the city is in charge of most creeks, but with so few resources it’s nearly impossible to keep every area clean and they rely heavily on residents for help.
“I do understand that,” said Ford. “But I hope people would care about nature enough they would want to get together and take care of things like this. Maybe keep it maintained.”
Ford is now reaching out to his neighbors for help and generosity to clean the area.
“You wouldn’t want to walk a child down here and teach them about nature. This is man’s dumping ground and it’s sad.”
If you’d like to help Chad Ford you can email him at: chadford3@gmail.com.
