Litter collected at Santa Margarita Watershed cleanup

FALLBROOK – The Fallbrook Beautification Alliance held a "Keeping Fallbrook Litter Free Santa Margarita Watershed Cleanup" Saturday, March 30. Fifteen volunteers collected approximately 50 five-gallon buckets of litter in the area.

The "Keeping Fallbrook Litter Free" program has created 50 distinct clean up zones in the Fallbrook and surrounding area, encouraging volunteers who live and work in those areas to make a weekly commitment to pick up one five-gallon bucket of trash and recycling each week. In the month of March, the teams cleaned up 305 five-gallon buckets.

In addition to this ongoing effort, the group hosts periodic cleanups of particularly challenging or trashy areas. At the watershed clean up, new and existing volunteers came together, including Scott Gallan, Zone 9 captain, scouted the area, identifying the location in Santa Margarita requiring the most cleanup. Zone 15 captain Joe Beyer helped redirect volunteers to the main clean up areas. New group volunteers Robin Brush, Patty Lacroix, Julie, Jean-Luc and Arianna Annet from De Luz, Sheila Simmons of De Luz and Martin Quiroz of Essex Mortgage and Rotary Club joined in the cleanup.

Items found and averted from the watershed include: broken windshield and car debris, steam vacuum cleaner, broken road caution sign that were washed out from the winter rainstorms, plastic car cover, discarded cat in a box, sofa, a TV set and construction debris.

With the assistance of park ranger Taylor Burnell, who was on the scene to assist, the FBA volunteers were able to report the sofa and television in the gorge. Burnell reassured the group that his team would remove these heavy items soon. Burnell shared the following message with the volunteers.

"It was incredible to see what just a few people in a morning can do," he said.

Volunteers Brenda Carden, Sue Jackson, Joe Beyer and Robin Brush helped sort through the litter, as 30% of the items were recyclable.

Anyone who is interested in this program and any others FBA has initiated to help keep Fallbrook beautiful can visit http://www.fallbrookbeautification.org or attend FBA's next "Keeping Fallbrook Litter Free" meeting from 7-9 p.m., May 13, at the Fallbrook Public Utility District board room. RSVP with Marta Donovan at (760) 405-4054.

Submitted by Fallbrook Beautification Alliance.