CALABASAS : Volunteers Sought for Stream Cleanup

Volunteers are needed for a stream cleanup to be held April 22 as a warm-up for the city of Calabasas’ Earth Day activities.

The cleanup will focus on Las Virgenes and Dry Canyon creeks, said Debbie Grissom, a member of the city’s Environmental Standards Committee, which organized the event, along with the Topanga-Las Virgenes Resource Conservation District.

The cleanup is part of an effort to protect the two watersheds, which drain into Malibu Creek and the Los Angeles River, respectively, Grissom said. The organizations also want to alert homeowners to the possibility that they may be unwittingly contributing to the pollution of streams, she said.

“A lot of people don’t realize that runoff from subdivisions drains into natural stream beds,” she said. “Whatever people put down those street drains goes into our streams.”

Volunteers should meet at Calabasas City Hall at 26135 Mureau Road. The cleanup runs from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Volunteers should call (818) 865-9462.

So far, she said, volunteers include the Volunteens, a youth group sponsored by the city’s Department of Parks and Recreation; Interact, a Calabasas High School club dedicated to community service, and Earth Club, another club at the school.

Calabasas will hold an Earth Day event from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. April 23 at the corner of Old Topanga Canyon Road and Mulholland Highway. Residents are asked to bring recyclable materials, including tires, to a collection center that will be set up at the site.

The event’s attractions include live music, children’s storytelling, crafts, a nature photo contest, Native American exhibits and a live mountain lion.