Youth’s Cleanup Plan Near River Takes Root : Environment: Volunteers clear the hillside of trash in preparation for the planting of 30 saplings.

A Studio City high school student led a group of volunteers Saturday in preparing a barren hillside along the Los Angeles River for planting.

As the 30 people cleared the hillside of junk, Chris Kantrowitz, 16, explained how he conceived the idea of planting native oaks and bays along the river between Tujunga and Colfax avenues.

“It’s an emotional thing for me--I read bad things in the paper about pollution and toxic waste and I want to do my part,” said Kantrowitz, a tall, slim youngster with brown hair. “I live right on the river, and I jog and bike here all the time, so I thought it would be nice for the neighborhood. “

Kantrowitz’s idea reached fruition when Jim Hardie, a volunteer for TreePeople, a local nonprofit environmental group, lectured at his high school.

Kantrowitz attends the Buckley School in Sherman Oaks.

Hardie and Kantrowitz arranged for developer Elia Elaz to donate about $2,000 for 30 young trees, which will be planted Nov. 17.

Local restaurateurs Rosalind Martini and Florence Miller will donate a drip line to irrigate the trees, Hardie said.

The drought-resistant saplings will only need about 60 gallons per week--the equivalent of about 12 toilet flushes, Hardie said.

Ron Taylor, president of the Colfax Meadows Homeowners Assn., which represents 71 families in the area, was one of the volunteers picking up chunks of concrete and other debris Saturday.

“I’ve been hoping for some time that someone would do something about this spot,” Taylor said. “But it took a 16-year-old kid to do it.”