Harvey Sherman, a maintenance worker for the USACE L.A. District’s Baseyard, accepts a bag of trash from a young Coastal Cleanup Day volunteer Sept. 15. Sherman and dozens of volunteers participated in the overall cleanup effort.

The clean up effort at Compton Creek was designed to coincide with regular clean up efforts and highlight the interconnectivity of waterways. Corps employees were on hand to help haul out the trash picked up by dozens of volunteers.

“The city of Compton organized the clean up,” said Roland Gonzales, Maintenance Supervisor at the District’s baseyard. “We’re just proud to be out here as a support element.”

Florindo Aguilar, an L.A. District employee for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, drives his backhoe full of trash to an awaiting five-ton dump truck. Aguilar, other Corps employees and volunteers from the local community, were on hand at Compton Creek near the Crystal Park Casino and Resort Sept. 15 for Coastal Cleanup Day.

The clean up area was outside her district but Arceneaux said the river affects everyone.

Yvonne Arceneaux, Compton City Council representative for the third district, sifts through weeks and brush to pick up trash at Compton Creek for the Sept. 15 Coastal Cleanup Day. Arceneaux joined Army Corps of Engineers L.A. District employees and dozens of volunteers in the effort to clean up the creek area near the Hwy 91 overpass.

Arceneaux and Heal the Bay organizers reminded volunteers of the importance of local clean up efforts on the environment as a whole.
 
“You don’t have to go to the beach and clean up to make a difference,” said James Alamillo, Urban Programs Manager for Heal the Bay. “A lot of people don’t know, don’t understand that the trash they throw or see on the street ends up in the creek. Then, the creek runs down into the river and ends up in the ocean. It’s all connected.”

The convergence of waterways and how it affects neighborhoods was a main focus of the Heal the Bay clean up. Organizers stressed to volunteers the idea of taking care of their own neighborhood as a valuable part of overall environmental education.

“A lot people don’t ordinarily think about the ‘environment’ being in an urban area,” Alamillo said. “A lot of the kids out here didn’t realize we had a creek in Compton. Then, they came down here and were amazed by all the green and the life around them.”

The Army Corps of Engineers is a full-spectrum engineer force dedicated to delivering innovative and effective solutions to the Nation’s engineering and environmental challenges. The Corps is committed to work openly and collaboratively with partner agencies in its various construction and environmental projects.