Students
take trash out of local beaches
By
Molly Haupt
Online Forty-Niner
Contributing Writer
As the sands of Long Beach continue to be heavily polluted Cal State Long Beach
students and community members strove to make a difference Saturday morning
by participating in the 21st annual California Coastal Cleanup Day.
The yearly event, coordinated by Heal the Bay, in conjunction with the California
Coastal Commission and surrounding cities such as Long Beach, had over 50 participating
sites, with 12 located in Long Beach.
The sites covered long stretches of contaminated beaches, including Pierpoint
Landing behind the Aquarium of the Pacific, all the way down to Peninsula Beach
and the San Gabriel River.
The Granada Avenue Beach on Ocean Boulevard was a very popular site, partly
because it is the meeting spot of the 30-Minute Beach Cleanup Justin Rudd,
a local activist, coordinates every third Saturday of the month.
Rudd, 36, a recent recipient of the Environmental Volunteer of the Year Award
by the Keep California Beautiful non-profit organization, has lived in Long
Beach since 1995 and quickly noticed the immense debris and pollution that
covered the beach he called home. It wasn’t long before he decided that
he could make a difference, and for six years he has coordinated the clean-up
program.
“
I live here, three blocks away, and I teach beach fitness classes. Knowing
the environment and this beach needs my help, I want to be a good steward to
our environment. It’s important,” Rudd said.
Some CSULB students find it important as well.
Fraternity brothers of Zeta Phi Row, including some members of their sister
program, came out to the Granada Avenue Beach to participate in the clean-up.
“
We were expecting to see big pieces of trash. Instead, we found lots of little
pieces of Styrofoam that were probably washed up from the ocean,” Chris
Chantakrivat,”19, community service chairman said.
“
I’m now thinking about adopting a separate beach,” he added.
Chantakrivat was referred to Rudd’s Web site, www.beachcleanup.org, and
gathered about 10 brothers and sisters to join him.
But word of mouth is not the only source that brings people to the beach.
“
We have an e-mail database that goes around to 1,500 people, all volunteers,
to help remind them each month,” Rudd said.
Among those receivers are CSULB professors
who often give extra credit to
students who take part in the clean-up,
which is what brought Jennifer
Ambriz, 22, to
the cleanup.
“
I will receive 10 extra credit points in my biology class for coming. It’s
a good cause because I really noticed the pollution this morning, and extra
credit never hurt,” Ambriz said. “Plus it’s only 30 minutes.”
And that is probably one main point that has kept Rudd’s program successful,
he only asks for half an hour of volunteer time.
Many others agree 30 minutes is worth their time to help Long Beach’s
perpertual problem of pollution, as an average of 100 people volunteer each
month.
Attendee’s include Lion’s Club chapters from cities like Lakewood
and Cerritos, Belmont Shore residents, students seeking school credit and some
community members who just feel their beaches deserve some attention.
“
I ride my bike on the beach bike path and always notice the garbage in the
sand. It’s really disturbing and I think this program is a great thing,” said
Long Beach resident Libby Yniguez, 22. “I’m gonna try to make a
commitment to come back every month.”
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