Everyone dumps their trash in this D.C. forest. One nonprofit wants to clean it up
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D.C.’s poorest neighborhood has a massive urban forest, and yet it’s plagued by a lack of maintenance, illegal dumping, and deforestation.
On a 95-degree day in one of Washington, D.C.’s poorest neighborhoods, Montia Austin makes her way into a wooded area near a busy intersection. Wearing work gloves and a yellow safety vest, she’s on the side of a six-lane road that feels like a highway as cars and trucks speed past her to catch a green light ahead.