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Volunteers spruce creek
Woodland Daily Democrat -
September
15,
2007
By Elizabeth Kalfsbeek
Volunteers spruce creek
Woodland Daily Democrat – 9/16/07
By Elizabeth Kalfsbeek, staff writer
Superman underwear. A faded love letter. Paintballs. Worn tires. Couch cushions. No, these things are not among thrift store racks, but were found by volunteers along Cache Creek on Saturday who were doing their part for the 23rd-annual Coast and Creek Cleanup Day.
"The community gets a real sense of connection being out here with the creek itself," Jeff Clark, education and outreach coordinator for the Conservancy, said of the 25 to 30 volunteers who participated at the site.
"They get a sense of making a contribution quickly," Clark said. "It's short-term gratification (picking up the trash). It's really tangible. This is instant. You can see a couch pulled out of the river."
The 2007 Coast and Creek Cleanup is the 23rd year of the California Coastal Cleanup Day program, making this one of the longest-running, and the largest, volunteer events in the state.
More than 50,000 people participated in California Coastal Cleanup Day last year, collecting more than 800,000 pounds of trash. At last year's Coast and Creek Cleanup, 240 volunteers participated in cleanup events in Yolo and Solano counties and removed around 13,375 pounds of trash and recyclables, and cleaned up 14.5 miles of waterways in Yolo County.
"How many of us see trash blowing around a parking lot but are too busy to do anything about it?" Clark asked. "Every good person sees trash everyday but it's hard to do anything about it when we're so busy in our daily lives. It's nice to have one day, at least, where people make it possible to finally make a difference. Sometimes that's all it takes is someone to invite you."
Lynnel Pollock, executive director of the Conservancy, was on hand with the volunteers. "Our mission is to restore and enhance Cache Creek and cleaning up debris is part of that," she said.
This is the fifth year the cleanup site has been at the Cache Creek Conservancy.
"It certainly brings awareness to the broader community of how important it is to dispose of trash and recyclables properly," Pollock said. "It costs to dispose of a tire, for example, and people don't want to pay so they throw them along the road. It's the smaller items that people don't even think about, like fast food papers. It can be detrimental to wildlife."
Over the years volunteers have found some very interesting things, Pollock said. "One year we actually did find the kitchen sink!"
Other trash items have included furniture, chairs, bulky items, cans, broken beer bottles, a filing cabinet, burned out cars, plastic bags, old newspapers and countless other items.
"Dispose of trash properly," Pollock heeded. "Don't throw it out the car window. It's a huge problem countywide, not just along the creek."
Bob and Zoey Heyer-Gray brought their seven-year-old daughter, Helena, and her friend Kate McCabe, 7, to help clean. "We enjoy coming out here and like the creek to be clean," Zoey said. "It seems like one of the few places you can be outdoors, hike and hang out at the creek if you live in Woodland."
This is the first year the family has come for the cleanup event, but they regularly visit Cache Creek for field trips. Helena attends Plainfield Elementary, an environmental-science-themed school.
"If you want to go out and enjoy wildlife, you want it to be the way it's supposed to be," Bob said.
"I really like nature and I've seen too many people hurting it, so I decided to come out and help," McCabe said.
The event was organized by a committee including representatives from the Cache Creek Conservancy, city of Davis, city of West Sacramento, Putah Creek Council, Yolo County Public Works, Yolo County Parks and Natural Resources Department, Delta Protection Commission, River City Rowing Club, and the Yolo County Flood Control and Water Conservation District.
In addition, the CALFED Bay-Delta Authority, Lower Putah Creek Coordinating Committee, Waste Management and Vacaville Sanitary provided support for the event.
Spencer Defty of Diamond D Engineering donated equipment to pull larger items out of the creek edge. Tiechart Construction and Granite Construction members were also on hand.
"It was a good turnout to get the work done," Pollock said. "We certainly appreciate the turnout and thank the people who came, many of whom were past participants."
If people are interested at volunteering at different times of the year, Pollock said, the Conservancy will certainly be willing to work with them.
"Volunteers come out here thinking they're going to do a dirty job, but they end up leaving with knowledge and a connection to nature and wildlife," said Clark.
For more information of the Conservancy, visit http://www.cachecreek.org. #
http://www.dailydemocrat.com/news/ci_6911633
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