Volunteers Needed for River Cleanup

Fifteen hundred volunteers are expected to remove some 25 tons of trash and debris from the Los Angeles River during Saturday’s ninth annual Great Los Angeles River Clean Up.

Sponsored by Friends of the Los Angeles River, the cleanup focuses on seven sites throughout Los Angeles, including Tujunga Wash and Sepulveda Basin in the Valley.

The group hopes that, in the future, more parts of the river will become like the Valley areas, which were chosen because of their lush greenery.

The trash, if not removed, would end up in the Long Beach Harbor, said Kate Klapper, a spokeswoman for Friends of the Los Angeles River.

In addition to the cleanup, Klapper said, the event is also a reminder that the Los Angeles River is more than a catch basin for storm water.

“We are trying to impress upon citizens that this city has a river,” she said.

“And the river is a real and endangered habitat and not just a flood control channel.”

Klapper said she hopes more of the river could be restored to its natural state by breaking up concrete and allowing trees and shrubs to grow along its banks.

“That’s more natural and better for the environment than letting the water run off into the ocean,” she said.

Klapper advises people who want to volunteer to wear sturdy shoes and have protection from the sun, such as sun block or a sun hat.

Friends of the Los Angeles River will provide gloves.

Saturday’s cleanup will run from 9 a.m. to noon.

For more information or directions, call the Friends of the Los Angeles River at (213) 953-9502.