Volunteers, young and old, come together to make a lasting effort to keep the Santa Clara River clean. With community leaders and residents joining to keep the environment safe, and goals are clear.
“The collective effort today it’s really a big community effort. And the way that it contributes to our overall goals for sustainability with the Santa Clara River, really, it’s just working together as a community to pick up the trash to keep our river clean. You look at other rivers, you might notice more trash, but we as a community work really hard, and it’s something that’s really important to us,” Haley Lawton said.
This year, volunteers tackled everything from old furniture, harmful plastics, and even shopping carts.
Making efforts like today is critical to the ecosystem of the Santa Clara River, as many species live in the riverbed.
“I just want you to know when you’re cleaning out debris, you’re helping save endangered species because they reside in our tributaries and our river. It’s really an important part of the whole ecosystem of Santa Clarita, and we’re kind of unusual that in this community we do that,” said Laurene Weste.
Illegal dumping has turned parts of the river into an eyesore. The City of Santa Clarita has partnered with organizations like the Santa Clara River Watershed Conservancy to monitor the river’s health year-round; however, events like this rely heavily on volunteer power.
“I always wanted to find something similar to doing something for the community, whether it’s picking up trash or going to school and clean up. So these are the things that I look forward to, and that way I can encourage my kids to do the same,” Marlon Tolentino said.
As the day was wrapping up, there were plenty of community activities and exhibits to help spread awareness and information about the Santa Clara River. The clean riverbed at the end of the day is a testament to what teamwork can achieve.
