Organizers and volunteers at the 31st Annual SLV River & Road Clean Up on Sept. 16 faced special challenges, because of the immense quantities of trees and debris washed down the 22 miles of the San Lorenzo River by the near-record 2017 winter storms.
“The volume of wet and smelly materials was enormous – over three tons of trash and 850 pounds of recyclable metals and glass,” said Nancy Macy, of the Valley Women’s Club, organizer of the annual event.
“There were 20 large zip-lock bags packed with hundreds of cigarette butts collected, and dozens of plastic straws.”
Macy said a large number of family groups participated this year, along with a Boy Scout Troop from Los Altos, and some adventurous adults willing to climb under bridges and traverse steep slopes.
She said the targets were along the San Lorenzo River, Zayante Creek, Love Creek and Bear Creek.
The Santa Cruz County Public Works Department donated one truck, with Shane Hommel, and San Lorenzo Valley Water District also donated trucks, driven by Ben Viramontes and Howard Oliphant, to load and delivered tons of materials to the Ben Lomond waste Transfer Station, where the county provided free disposal.
“There were many items that were too big to carry to the staging sites, so one volunteer with a truck took five loads (two of trash and three of scrap metals) to the Transfer Station,” Macy reported this week.
The Valley Women’s Club reported a total of 101 volunteers, ranging in age from pre-school to 90-plus, participated in the cleanup. The event has been organized by The Valley Women’s Club since 1986, partnering with the SLV Water District and Santa Cruz County since then, and with Save Our Shores for the past nine years.
“Each volunteer had a great story to tell – from finding aged items long-buried by the creek to daring steep slopes to get that rusty hunk of culvert,” Macy reported.
David Kapellas of Boulder Creek walked up to his waist in mud bringing in lengths of plastic drain pipes, and the Leon and Renee Khaimovich family pulled a mammoth ooze-coated vinyl sheeting from the River embankment below their house north of Boulder Creek.
In Ben Lomond, the Reedy Family (Dan and Lauren, plus Ashton, Tess, Claire and Evanne) dug out hunks of culvert and junk metal, and a “tire” that ended up being filled with cement and a broken pole (tether ball!), and managed to haul it up their very steep embankment, having lost their steps in the flood where the River passes their home below Ben Lomond.
Carl Reuter crossed the river with his heavy-duty wheelbarrow to the beach by the Highlands Park playground, where Bryce Griffen met him and brought up three very heavy loads to clear that entire play area, where Charmian Traynor was also pulling out trash caught up in the shrubs and vines.
In Felton, Boy Scouts from Los Altos and Troop 604 from Felton, brought in a couple dozen bags of debris on their community service adventure, and Joan Takenaka brought in over 325 pounds of trash to add to the enormous truckloads taken from the Covered Bridge Park.
Photos of the event are posted on the Valley Women’s Club’s Facebook page.
“Each resident of the San Lorenzo Valley can help make every day River & Road Clean Up Day by removing the trash from along their road frontage or from the pull-outs along Highway 9 and other major roads. Don’t wait for a year to help protect your waterways and their wildlife from the impacts of cigarette butts, plastics and other debris’ contamination,” Macy said.
