Coast Is Cleared : 1,000 Tidy Up Upper Newport Bay in Yearly Cleanup

Lauren Greenberg’s heart grew sad when she picked up a dead duckling from the marsh at Upper Newport Bay Saturday while stuffing trash bags with cigarette butts, plastic six-pack container rings and foam cups.

The 14-year-old girl said she learned a valuable lesson as she stared at the dead bird. “He must have died from choking on our trash,” Lauren said. “That’s why it’s important for us to clean up our environment.”

More than 1,000 people volunteered to clean the bay as part of Coastweeks, a nationwide effort to improve the quality of the country’s beaches and coastal wetlands.

In California, Saturday highlighted the three-week Coastweeks celebration with its Adopt-A-Beach Coastal Cleanup Day, sponsored by the Coastal Commission.

Cities throughout the county’s coastline from Seal Beach to San Clemente participated in the event, which was created in 1985 to improve awareness about the coastal environment pollution.

Last year, 40,000 volunteers collected about 380,000 pounds of litter throughout the state’s waterways, beaches, marshes and roads. At least 50,000 volunteers were expected to participate this year.

“This gives the public the opportunity to help the environment with their own hands,” said Nancy Bruland, park ranger for the Upper Newport Bay Regional Park. “People can actually see that they are making a difference.”

Lois Johnson, 64, smiled after spending two hours collecting trash on a marsh in Newport Bay. The Santa Ana resident said she’s been participating in the cleanup effort for the past four years.

“Orange County has always been so beautiful, you just hate to see it ruined,” she said. “I just like to see the environment as clean as possible.”

Jason Hames, 21, of Anaheim, said he volunteered to help preserve the bay, where he has spent countless hours watching owls and other animals make it their sanctuary. “People are becoming aware of the environment in their own back yard, and by cleaning it up, I think we’re making a small dent in the big problem.”

Tim Turner, Adopt-A-Beach coordinator for Huntington Beach, said 443 people--half of whom were children--participated in the cleanup.

“We accumulated 27 cubic yards of trash and 3 1/2 cubic yards of recyclables,” he said. “The best thing though was having all those children come out. It really was an educational experience for them.”

A biology teacher offered his classes extra credit for cleaning up Newport Bay. One hundred of his students from Corona del Mar High School showed up. “It’s really neat that these kids came and are saying that the environment is worth it,” Ron Schnitger said.

Hundreds of other students from schools throughout Orange County also participated in the cleanup.

Bob English, 63, of Long Beach watched the youths as he picked up pieces of plastic foam. “This is great for the kids,” he said. “When you pick up the trash, it makes you aware of how much there is, and it makes kids think twice before littering.”

All the trash and recyclables picked up by the volunteers were noted on data sheets listing the different materials collected, and the information will be forwarded to the California Coastal Commission, officials said.

Most commonly found items included plastic products and cigarette butts. Among the unusual were a mailbox and a bicycle found in Upper Newport Bay, while a telephone receiver, bra and two hypodermic needles were found in Huntington Beach.

“With trash like this, I think disaster is just around the corner, but you got to keep plugging away,” English said. “You have to keep going.”