Posted on 29 September 2013 by La Habra Journal
By Gigi Gradillas
La Habra Journal
(From Left to Right) LHHS students Lesley Hart, Briana Soto, Elizabeth Garcia, Anakin Tancre and Aaron Gallarea.
Nearly 70 volunteers came out to lend a hand Saturday in cleaning up Coyote Creek on Beach and Imperial. For nearly four hours, volunteers climbed down rocks, picking up trash, and some even went into the water to clean up the rubble. Cities throughout California took part in cleaning up waterways and beaches. La Habra participated in the annual California Coastal Cleanup under the direction of Melissa You, coordinator of the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System. “I’ve noticed that the litter gets less and less because we tend to clean it up every year and all the volunteers come out to help with everything,” she said. Among the large group of volunteers were the La Habra Leos, Boy Scouts, and many La Habra residents.
“They’re glad to be doing something about it. They want their community clean,” You added.
William Tabata climbs down to join his son Brandon in the creek cleanup.
Mayor Rose Espinoza mentioned how important community involvement is in regards to this specific project. “If it weren’t for these ordinary citizens pitching in, this wouldn’t happen,” Espinoza said. “It gives them pride because they have a say in the community as well, which is important. It’s not just the city officials and administration…the city is them and they tell us how proud they are of our community and they are willing to put in the work for it.” The amount of trash was unbelievable to some, one local Boy Scout in particular. Andrew Trujillo, 9, said how crazy it was to see that much trash there was in one spot. Among the debris were bottles, electronic devices, blankets, athletic equipment, and much more. They were all properly disposed of. Trujillo agreed that it is important to keep areas like Coyote Creek clean. When asked why he came out to participate, Trujillo said, “To clean up trash for the city”.
Volunteers all had one mindset going into this, which was stated by La Habra Leo, Alexander Carmona, age 17, “I like to keep our planet safe. I want our planet to be healthy,and have our future kids be healthy”.
