– presented by Meghan Sahli-Wells for the Culver City Bicycle Coalition
This Saturday, Sept. 17, is Oceans Day, which millions of volunteers will celebrate by participating in coastal cleanup efforts in 90 countries throughout the world. Called “the biggest volunteer day on the planet,” the first Coastal Cleanup began in Oregon in 1984, when one woman, Judie Neilson, simply wanted her state beaches to be clean. She initiated a highly successful statewide effort, which inspired California to follow suit in 1985 and Texas in 1986, after which it spread internationally.
Coastal Cleanup Day has been very popular in California. Local nonprofit Heal the Bay has coordinated the Coastal Cleanup for Los Angeles County for the past 22 years. According to its website, “California Coastal Cleanup Day was listed in the Guinness Book of World Records as the ‘largest garbage collection’ in 1993, with an outstanding total of 50,405 volunteers statewide! Since the start of California’s participation in 1986, over 800,000 people have collectively gathered more than 14 million pounds of trash and debris from along the coast and up through the natural water basins.” In fact, last year alone, “over 80,000 volunteers from California removed a record 1 million pounds of trash!”
For the past several years, Culver City Public Works Department has supported the California Coastal Cleanup along the Ballona Creek bike path, with community partners such as Ballona Creek Renaissance, Echo Horizon School, Kiwanis Los Angeles and for the first time this year, the Culver City Bicycle Coalition. Catherine Vargas, Culver City’s Environmental Coordinator, says that the city has participated actively in the cleanup at least since 2000, and possibly much earlier, predating her time with the city. She explains, “Culver City provides the coordination for our stretch of the [Ballona Creek] bike path. The city provides street sweeping, bulk pickups from the creek bed and a scooter to pick up all the bags each site generates. Dispatch and staff are available and work alongside the many volunteers for the day.” The Public Works Department also supplies gloves, rakes, trash bags and assorted table supplies to assist in the host sites registration activities.
Finally, the city weighs the refuse gathered during the cleanup, both to measure the volunteer’s hard work and to communicate the depth of the problem of litter in our waterways.
As important as it is to conduct major annual Coastal Cleanups, it is even more pressing to educate the public and address the problem at its source: the incredible amount of waste that’s thrown on streets every day and that migrates to our oceans.
Heal the Bay’s website emphatically states, “An estimated 6.4 million tons of litter enters the oceans every year and 80% comes from land! That is why it is vital we also focus on cleaning up inland creeks and waterways so the debris doesn’t find its way into the oceans and onto the beach. Though it may not seem like it, each person in L.A. County is connected to the ocean and each person can help keep it clean. Every cigarette butt thrown out of a car window, every balloon that is accidentally let go will eventually find its way to the ocean.”
Readers may be wondering, why write an article about the Coastal Cleanup in a bike column? Culver City’s largest and most important bike path is along Ballona Creek. Cyclists from all over the Southland use the path for commuting, recreation and training. It is the backbone of the city’s Bicycle and Pedestrian Master Plan and a major asset to not only cyclists, but to the city and the region. Culver City Bicycle Coalition (CBBC) founding member Jim Shanman states, “The CCBC is pleased to be participating in this year’s creek cleanup day. Ballona Creek and the adjoining bike path are integral to improving the quality of life in and around Culver City. Doing our part to support the efforts of Ballona Creek Renaissance and Heal the Bay is essential to preserving this important resource.”
Catherine Vargas reminds us that, “The event could not happen without the dedicated volunteers and groups. Ballona Creek Renaissance, Kiwanis and Echo Horizon School have been wonderful advocates for the environment and truly are an asset to our community. We couldn’t do this without their help. We are pleased to welcome the Culver City Bicycle Coalition as a new host site.”
Please consider lending your hands and your hearts to this effort this weekend. The Cleanup begins at 9 a.m. and ends at noon on Saturday, Sept. 17.
In Culver City, there are four clean-up sites along La Ballona Creek:
- Syd Kronenthal Park (at the bike path entrance, hosted by Echo Horizon School)
- Duquesne Avenue (north of Culver City Transportation Building, hosted by the Culver City Bicycle Coalition)
- Overland Avenue (Behind Julian Dixon Library, hosted by Ballona Creek Renaissance)
- Sepulveda Boulevard (on bike/creek path entrance, hosted by Kiwanis Los Angeles)
Bags and gloves will be provided. However, to help cut down on the number of bags we use for our cleanups, please bring a reusable bucket or reuse a bag from home. We also encourage the use of reusable water bottles and garden gloves.
Volunteers must be 13 years old or accompanied by a parent. Cleanup volunteers will enjoy a free pass during Heal the Bay’s Coastal Cleanup Day celebration on Sept. 17 and 18 at the Santa Monica Pier Aquarium.
Bike Safe, Bike Smart! is a weekly column to promote responsible cycling by providing information, education and advice about riding. It’s written by members of the Culver City Bicycle Coalition (CCBC), a local chapter of the Los Angeles County Bicycle Coalition. The CCBC hosts a family ride each month. For more information, go to ccbike.org.