RECREATION / NATURE : Cleaning Up the Wild : Local Outdoor Enthusiasts to Help in Ridding Bolsa Chica, Upper Newport Bay Ecological Reserves of Year’s Accumulation of Trash

Orange County’s few remaining wild places, under human pressure from all sides, get more than the usual wear and tear. And with the various local parks and reserves understaffed and under-funded as they are, it’s often up to the folks who enjoy these stretches of wilderness to patch them up from time to time.

Local outdoor enthusiasts will have two chances Saturday to do their bit for the local environment, as both the Bolsa Chica and Upper Newport Bay ecological reserves hold their annual cleanup days.

Volunteers at both spots will be tidying up a year’s accumulation of trash--foam cups, beer bottles and fast-food containers--marring the salt marshes that provide vital feeding grounds for thousands of migrating birds.

About 100 volunteers showed up for last year’s cleanup at Bolsa Chica, and though they got muddy wading about in the muck, many said they felt better for chipping in on the effort. All in all, it’s a relatively painless way to make the increasingly popular refrain, “think globally, act locally,” into more than a slogan.

The Upper Newport Bay cleanup runs from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Volunteers will meet at Newport Dunes Aquatic Park on Back Bay Drive off Jamboree Boulevard; transportation to cleanup sites, along with food and refreshments, will be provided.

Other activities are planned as well, including a free fishing seminar on Shellmaker Island from 10:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. and nature walks leaving the corner of Back Bay and Eastbluff drives every hour from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. For information on the activities, call (714) 640-6746.

Meanwhile, farther up the coast, volunteers can meet in either parking lot at Bolsa Chica, at Warner Avenue and Pacific Coast Highway or on the inland side of highway, one mile south of Warner. The cleanup, sponsored by Amigos de Bolsa Chica, runs from 8 a.m. to noon. Refreshments will be provided.

For information on Bolsa Chica, call (714)897-7003. For either cleanup, wear a hat, sturdy shoes and comfortable clothing that you don’t mind getting grimy.

For those who’d rather not wallow in the muck, Orange County has plenty of other opportunities for outdoor and nature enthusiasts to combine their favorite pursuit with a worthy cause. Listed below are a few examples, but you can also check with your local park or nature center about their needs.

* Upper Newport Ecological Reserve

In addition to the annual cleanup day, Upper Newport Bay needs ongoing volunteer help in a number of areas: leading nature walks and field trips, creating exhibits and taking part in efforts to reintroduce native vegetation to portions of the reserve.

Upper Newport Bay, the most important remaining stronghold of the endangered light-footed clapper rail and a vital feeding and wintering ground for many shore birds and waterfowl, is part of the recently created California Wildlands Program.

The reserve is administered by the California Department of Fish and Game, and holds periodic volunteer training sessions. The next one starts Oct. 4, but applications for the session are due Saturday. Information: (714) 640-6746.

* Santa Ana Zoo

The zoo maintains a large corps of volunteers to lead tours, lead classes and labs for schoolchildren, and run outreach programs such as the Zoomobile.

All volunteers undergo a six-week training program that gives an overview of the zoo collection and teaches the basics of animal behavior, zoology and efforts to breed endangered animal species. The next training session does not begin until Jan. 10, but classes fill up early and reservations are already being accepted.

“It really is a commitment,” stressed Pat Besnett of Friends of the Santa Ana Zoo. Volunteers are asked to devote one day a week and at least 80 hours a year to the zoo. Information: (714) 953-8555.

* Museum of Natural History and Science

The museum, formerly in Newport Beach, is looking for new volunteer docents as it prepares for its move to new interim quarters in Aliso Viejo (just a mile from the museum’s planned permanent site, in the new Aliso and Wood Canyons Regional Park).

For now, at least, the museum is looking for docents to lead tours of indoor exhibits at the new site, due to open in December. Also, volunteers will be able to help the museum with its huge collection of marine mammal fossils as it opens a new fossil preparation lab.

“People love to come and pick the fossils,” said museum director Dudley Varner. By next summer, the museum hopes to start some volunteer-led outdoor activities in Aliso-Wood Canyons, including programs focusing on the Pecten Reef fossil site and on the ecology of Aliso Creek. Information: (714) 640-7120.

* Santa Ana Mountains

At one time or another, Ken Croker and his band of Sierra Club volunteers have worked on just about every trail in the Santa Ana Mountains, and even built a few new ones. In fact, Croker estimates that his bunch maintains about 50 miles of hiking trails, much of which had fallen into total disrepair by the time he came on the scene about 20 years ago.

Regular trail-maintenance trips are scheduled through the year, except at the height of summer. The trips concentrate on longer and more remote trails used by serious hikers, leaving the shorter walks to the U.S. Forest Service and other volunteer groups.

Building and maintaining trails is tough but rewarding work, and the trips take in some of the county’s wildest and most beautiful spots. Information: (714) 546-7016.

* Irvine Regional Park

Gentler but no less important work is available through a project of the local Sea and Sage chapter of the National Audubon Society. For several years now, the group has spearheaded an effort to reintroduce native plants to sections of the park that have been overrun by exotic species.

In much of the county, even in areas that look wild, non-native plants introduced by early ranchers and farmers have pushed native species virtually out of existence. Sea and Sage plans to expand its project to William R. Mason Regional Park in Irvine (several independent revegetation projects are under way in other parts of the county).

Project coordinator Susan Sheakley is now planning planting and mulching days for the coming season; in addition, folks are needed to stop in regularly to water and weed the plots. Information: (714) 543-7393.

* Crystal Cove State Park

Mountain bikers are by far the biggest users of this seaside park, carved out of the old Irvine Ranch. To help avoid conflicts with other trail users, a volunteer mounted patrol was formed in cooperation between the park and Concerned Cyclists of Crystal Cove.

Patrol members simply ride as they normally would, according to park ranger John O’Rourke, but are trained in first aid so they can help in emergencies. They also report trail conditions to park rangers and monitor enforcement problems (some are equipped with portable radios). Once a month, volunteers gather for trail maintenance projects.

The venture has helped keep Crystal Cove open to mountain bikes at a time when many other state parks have shut them out. Information: (714) 494-3539.