Clean sweep for creeks

Sonoma citizens young and old joined in Saturday’s 24th Annual California Coastal Cleanup Day by ridding neighborhood creeks of what some called a non-native species: trash.
The Sonoma Valley High School Earth Club, the Sonoma Ecology Center (SEC), Scouts and assorted volunteers mounted a clean up effort of the creeks behind the high school and behind Safeway and culminated their efforts with a fiesta.
Mike Bobbitt waded into Nathanson Creek with full wetsuit. He said there were indeed fish in the river, at least two or three inches long – he indicated with thumb and forefinger – but was not sure what kind.
Girl Scout leader, Cari Paganini, surrounded by giggling girls who were stuffing found items such as toy dogs into their trash bags, said the clean up was important to her because she wanted people to have the same environment she did when she was growing up in Sonoma, 40 years ago. “I’ve seen overpopulation in a lot of areas,” she said. “There’s a lot more trash than there was when I was a child.”
Her Girl Scouts chimed in saying they were glad to be there because they’re getting extra credit for their science class and also, thanks to their efforts, “because the creek is healthier and [the trash] doesn’t go down to the ocean.”
Sonoma Valley High School Earth Club co-Presidents Melissa and Alexandra Carlson were at the scene too, bags in hand, eager to explain the significance of the project. “Alexa” said they were getting their Gold Awards with the Girl Scouts and after picking up the trash they’d be taking everyone on a tour, showing them the different elements of a healthy creek and how they can improve creeks near their home. She said Nathanson Creek is a unique opportunity for all the youth in Sonoma Valley “because it’s right behind the high school and right next to the middle school. So what we’re trying to do with these cleanups is get the youth and the student body more involved.”
Physical sciences teacher Dean Knight supports the project and is giving extra credit to those who participate in the cleanup said Melissa. “It’s really good to get as many people involved from the community as possible,” she said, “because I think a lot of people take it for granted that we live in a beautiful valley where you could just go out and hike in the mountains, or you could just come and walk next to a creek. A lot of people don’t have that, and if we don’t keep these creeks clean and if we don’t keep them healthy – if we don’t keep helping them, we aren’t going to have them for future generations, which would be very, very sad.”