Environmental Group to Lead Wetlands Cleanup
The Friends of the Ballona Wetlands are sponsoring an environmental cleanup Saturday morning.
Volunteers should meet at 9 a.m. behind Gordon’s Market at 303 Culver Blvd.
More than 200 species of birds, plants and other wildlife live in the 285-acre wetlands, the only such open space in Los Angeles County, said volunteer coordinator Jennifer Liebler.
The problem facing the wetlands, she said, is that “a lot of nonnative plants, like ice plants on the side of the freeway, are coming in and killing native species, like dune buckwheat.”
In turn, she said, endangered animal species such as the El Segundo blue butterfly are losing their habitat and moving closer to extinction.
By weeding out the nonnative plants, the volunteers are hoping to help bring back native plant and animal species.
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