Check out today’s Mark Trail for some advice from very familiar faces. This year he did an entire series about a landowner attempting to remove a pesky beaver dam and failing, only to find that when a fire started on his property the pond provided the only standing water available to put it out. Hmmm. The Earthday message is an excellent reminder that this Saturday is the Friend’s of Alhambra Creek cleanup and any friend of the beavers should naturally be a friend of the creek. At least some members of the council usually make an appearance at these events. Wouldn’t it be very convincing if turnout was double this year, because of the increased interest in the creek? Put on your old sneakers and head down to the Martinez Adult School staging area where you can be put to very good use. The link is to last years clean up but the rules are the same:
9 AM to Noon , Staging at Martinez Adult Education Campus (Alhambra & F Street) – need volunteers to go in teams to drag dumped things out of creeks for City crews to pick up and haul away. Be prepared to get wet & muddy and to have the satisfaction of working with others to clean the creeks. Eligible for community service hours.
Tempted? While we were working on the Birthday-Earthday celebration, I had an excellent conversation with Mark Westwind who organized the Kayak Regatta event. We talked about putting together a volunteer schedule for paddlers to regularly clean the downtown creek. The idea would be to have volunteers sign up for one or two weekends a year, and kayak the creek area picking up trash. Mark had the excellent idea of using a child’s float ring as a trash bin to pull along behind the boat, and storing a skim net somewhere it can be used as well. Bottles, cans and light trash can be easily removed, although heavier items can just be noted for city staff. Although the creek is far too small for sea kayakers, white water boats fit easily in the channel. It might be possible to arrange a loaned boat from some of our local supporters as well.
Details to be worked out would be the exact put-in and take-out sites, and the necessary volunteer waiver with the city, but if the idea of helping out from the water (beavers’-eye-view) interests you, shoot me an email and give some idea of your availability. We should have all the manpower necessary to keep this creek area clean.
