Confluence Cleanup A Big Success
September 16, 2006 - Seventy volunteers converged on the historic confluence of the Arroyo Seco and the Los Angeles River on Saturday, September 16th to participate in the annual Coastal Cleanup Day. Although the historic heart of Los Angeles, the Confluence has seen better days, everyone got a first hand view of what can and should be done to keep this area free of debris. Volunteers came from the surrounding communities with a huge youth contingent from the Anahuak Youth Soccer Association. Councilmember Ed Reyes, whose district covers the Confluence, was on hand to thank the participants for coming out.
While some groups worked directly at the Confluence, others headed upstream to clean up the area beneath the Interstate 5 overpasses. Many hoped that these areas would soon be open to the public as parkland. Others pondered the ramifications of human actions on natural environments. Jennifer Murphy, a volunteer from Highland Park, stated, “This is a place of hope and hopelessness. There are little plants, fish and birds managing to cling to life, despite the concrete and the garbage. But the huge walls and the amount of trash are daunting. This is not how a river should be. I’m glad I got to come down today and experience it.”
Co-organizer, Jeff Chapman of the Arroyo Seco Foundation said, “It was great to see people come out to care for our rivers. Although cleaning up the trash around the Arroyo is an uphill battle, we made a big dent in the amount of trash found at the Confluence, and we had a good time doing it.”
This event was sponsored by Heal the Bay, Urban Semillas, Arroyo Seco Foundation, Anahuak Youth Soccer Association, La Alianza de los Pueblos del Rio, and the Honorable Councilmember Ed Reyes. Coastal Cleanup Day is part of a global movement to keep our beaches and oceans clean. It takes place on the third Saturday in September annually.
