Environmental Heroes to Receive Awards

Fifty-one volunteers will be honored today at an Earth Day ceremony by the Los Angeles Environmental Affairs Department for their commitment to beautifying Los Angeles.

City Councilwoman Ruth Galanter will present each recipient with the city’s first 1998 Unsung Environmental Hero Award in the City Council chambers.

While the Environmental Affairs Department does not keep records on what section of Los Angeles each winner is from, at least 15 of the 51 honorees live in the San Fernando Valley, a department spokesman said.

Valley winners include Lynn Marquardt, president of the Village Gardeners, the group that cultivated the banks of the Los Angeles River and turned a veritable wasteland into a colorful garden, and Harold Van Buskirk, also known as “Captain Hook,” who spends his free time ridding Sherman Oaks and Studio City of graffiti.

Other recipients were selected for similar work, including maintaining parks and medians and removing illegal signs from public property.

All the winners were nominated by either representatives of council districts or the nonprofit organizations to which they belong.

“These are individuals who, in each of their areas, have made it their business to improve their communities,” said Sharon Mayer, deputy field officer for Councilman Michael Feuer, whose office selected three of the honorees.

“We see the fruits of their labor every time we see something beautiful in the community,” she said.