Local volunteers leave behind cleaner river

Thousands of pounds of trash were removed from the San Lorenzo River and nearby roads last weekend by volunteers from the San Lorenzo Valley and Scotts Valley.
About 5,620 pounds of trash was collected at four sites along the river during the Sept. 19 SLV River and Road Cleanup and Coastal Cleanup, reported organizer Nancy Macy of the Valley Women’s Club.
The club’s annual River and Road Cleanup was scheduled in conjunction with the worldwide Coastal Cleanup for the first time.
And for the second year, SLV Citizens Organized for Responsible Ecology hosted cleanup sites in Felton as part of the Coastal Cleanup.
“This effort is an excellent example about how nonprofit organizations can enlist the help of an entire community to achieve an important result,” Macy said.
In Ben Lomond, sixth-grade teacher Matt O’Brien and 10 of his students from San Lorenzo Valley Middle School worked for three hours in an abandoned encampment. Boy Scout Troop 602 helped in Ben Lomond, and Cub Scout Pack 63 worked on the Junction in Boulder Creek.
Santa Cruz County and SLV Water District trucks carted away the garbage.
In all, 183 volunteers helped clean up the valley.
The Felton station collected 2,000 pounds of garbage with the help of 55 volunteers.
Meanwhile, in Santa Cruz, crews scoured the beaches and river mouths for garbage as they gathered more than 9,000 pounds of trash and 3,900 pounds of recyclables.