OJAI : Cleanup Planned for Libbey Park Streams

The Ojai Valley Land Conservancy will sponsor a community cleanup of Libbey Park’s streams Saturday as part of a long-term plan to restore the valley’s waterways.

With the help of Concerned Resource and Environmental Workers, an Ojai-based youth employment and conservation group, volunteers will clear trash and debris from the park’s streams.

Ojai’s Libbey Park Master Plan calls for rehabilitation of the streams, which once ran year-round through the 13-acre park. Now, the two waterways are eroding and full of weeds and debris, said Ellen Hall, administrative director of the conservancy.

When they do run, the streams often carry trash into San Antonio Creek and the Pacific Ocean.

Saturday’s cleanup is the first step in a larger restoration plan for the waterways, Hall said.

“We plan to bring together a team of interested citizens and experts to plan how we can replant the streams and make them the educational resource they can be for the community,” she said in a prepared statement.

The cleanup will begin at 9 a.m. at the park’s gazebo. The event will conclude with a picnic at noon, where participants will receive free ice cream and lemonade.

For information, call the conservancy at 646-7930.