September 25, 2008

Community cleans up Los Alamitos Creek

At least 90 volunteers met last Saturday at the Ha-cienda entrance to New Almaden Quicksilver County Park to help remove more than 20 tons of debris from the creek.

During the canal cleanup, volunteers collected more than trash and debris—they also collected lizards. No one, however, was able to catch a frog. Photos by Michael Boulland

Students, residents and scouts joined the Friends of the Los Alamitos Watershed in conjunction with the state’s annual Coastal Cleanup. The volunteers removed seven pickup trucks of bamboo, 30 yards of debris and five yards of recyclables. Cub Scout Pack 281 Den 6, a local Brownie Scout troop, Leland High School’s Environmental Club, the New Almaden Community Club and a young work crew from Santa Clara County hauled trash from the creek while locals Eddie and Julie Della Monica helped haul trash with the dump truck that Syd Melbourne and John Graham helped load.

One young helper, who said she was 4 years old, smiled while she worked filling a trash bag and carrying it down the hill by herself.

FOLAW member Robbie La-mons led Boy and Girls Scouts along the creek at Bullmore Park and later took 8- and 9-year-olds to clean up Los Alamitos Creek and the Calero canal. The young volunteers became very enthusiastic when they found an old couch and a pile of takeout food debris along the canal.

But they weren’t just picking up trash. Lamons provided history and geological information while they were cleaning. The children were very impressed with her nature and geology stories and loved the site of the thermo bubbles at old Vichi Springs.

Canal collectors got to hear stories about the area’s history and geology, making the cleanup both fun and entertaining.

The Leland Environmental Club had the most challenging task: to remove the trash in the ravine below Hick Road. Organized by President Ashley Ngyuen, this group had the difficult job of gathering up a truckload of tires, wood, rugs and bottles by bringing them up from the bottom of the ravine. Nguyen said her group was eager to help clean up the environment in their own neighborhood.

Leland volunteer Amanda Martinez, whose birthday was on the same day as the event, enjoyed it by helping clean up by hanging from brush bushes and rocks to reach bottles and cans thrown over the cliff into the creek. She said she couldn’t believe how many bottles littered the bank.

The Leland group had such a good time, they are planning to help clean the waterways on a regular basis. After the cleanup, all the volunteers were treated to a hot dog or hamburger lunch at the Community Club cooked by Peggy Melbourne and Dorene Boulland.

—By Carol Rosen with help from Michael Boulland