Join us for the 21st Annual River Rally Clean-Up and Environmental Expo

Take a short drive or bike around the city of Santa Clarita and it’s easy to see how much we value the preservation of our natural resources. Our beautiful open spaces, parks and trails are just a few reasons why Santa Clarita stands out as an exceptional city.

When I host visitors to our city for the first time, I always make it a point to highlight the beautiful Santa Clara River that runs right through the middle of Santa Clarita. This river is the longest free-flowing river and one of the last two natural river systems remaining in Southern California.

Many species call this river their home. Despite its usually dry appearance, the Santa Clara River is a lively natural resource; home to 14 endangered bird species, six endangered plant species, 57 archeological sites and 12 historic landmarks.

Since 1994, the City has hosted an annual River Rally Clean-Up; inviting residents of all ages to come together and help clean a portion of the Santa Clara River.

The numerous hours of service volunteers have devoted over the past two decades is exceptional. To date, thousands of volunteers have collected over 396,000 pounds of trash and debris from the Santa Clara River and its tributaries! If you’re interested in participating in this activity, you’re in luck, there’s still more cleaning up to do!

This year’s annual River Rally Clean-Up and Environmental Expo will take place on Saturday, September 19, 2015 from 8 a.m. to 11 a.m. Volunteers will meet in the lot behind the shopping center at 18386 Soledad Canyon Road, located just east of Sierra Highway.

For your comfort and protection, volunteers are required to wear sturdy closed-toe shoes and appropriate clothing for walking the riverbed. Since temperatures can run high here in Santa Clarita, I’d recommend bringing some sunscreen and a hat. Participants will be provided with gloves, collection bags, and refreshments. We’ll also be providing commemorative giveaways while supplies last.

As parking space is limited, we ask that you carpool, walk or bike to the event. For our bicyclists, free bike valet service will be offered and you’ll be happy to know that the bike trail runs right along the event location. If you do need to drive, parking is located in the open area behind the shopping center.

This is an excellent volunteer opportunity for scout troops, youth groups, and the entire family. However, as much as we love our precious pets, they are not allowed on site at this event.

Pre-Registration is required again this year and volunteers may sign up through a convenient, webbased volunteer registration system on our Green Santa Clarita site at www.GreenSantaClarita.com. Registration must be completed by Wednesday, September 16.

Service hours will be signed for those volunteers who bring the appropriate forms.

Not able to volunteer but still want to learn how you can help protect the environment? Stop by the free Environmental Expo and find out about the different ways you can help preserve the environment. At the Expo you’ll learn about recycling, air quality, pollution prevention, water quality, open space preservation, wildlife conservation, and much more!

In addition to the River Rally Clean-Up, the City works to restore many acres of the Santa Clara River by removing the water wasting, invasive plant called Arundo. Removal improves habitat for the many endangered species that call the Santa Clara River home, and saves millions of gallons of water per year.

We’ve also installed low impact projects to help manage storm water at public parking lots such as those at the Valencia Library, McBean Transfer Station and most recently at the Valencia Glen Park. Improvements have been made to allow urban run-off to filter into the ground, rather than polluting the river.

I encourage you to be part of the solution for a better environment by helping to preserve the river’s natural beauty and variety of wildlife. If you’ve already taken the time to sign up, I thank you in advance! We typically have over 1,500 volunteers show up at the River Rally Clean-Up and I hope you’ll join us as one of them this year! See you at the River Rally! For more information, call the River Rally Hotline at (661) 284-1415 or email environment@santa-clarita.com, or to complete the required pre-registration forms, visit www.GreenSantaClarita.com.

Marsha McLean is the Mayor of the City of Santa Clarita and can be reached at: mmclean@santaclarita.com.