HELP MAKE A CLEANER VALLEY FOR THE OCEAN'S SAKE.

Byline: Mark Gold Local View

COASTAL Cleanup Day, ``the largest volunteer day on the planet,'' is coming to the San Fernando Valley on Saturday.

That may sound a bit odd, considering the Valley doesn't exactly have a coast, but that's the point. Local waterways are clogged with trash, creating eyesores and health hazards in inland communities. In addition, the majority of trash that ends up in the ocean comes from up to 60 miles inland, including communities in the Valley.

Just as rainwater flows from the mountains down to the ocean, tons of trash travels throughout the Valley via the L.A. River and other waterways to empty in the ocean. Stopping the trash inland is a key part of keeping neighborhoods clean and preventing coastal pollution, and that's why California Coastal Cleanup Day provides ``landlocked'' Valley residents a way to help keep local beaches, waterways, and their communities, clean.

The annual Coastal Cleanup Day, now in its 20th year, is observed in all 50 states and 91 countries and has 13 inland sites in L.A. County, including two Valley cleanup sites where local volunteers are needed for the 9 a.m.-to-noon events at the Sepulveda Basin in Encino (through which the highly polluted L.A. River runs) and the Tujunga Wash in Sunland. Nearby inland sites include Medea Creek in Agoura Hills and Elysian Park on the Los Angeles River.

San Fernando Valley sites can play a pivotal role in the overall success of California Coastal Cleanup Day. The volunteers at the inland sites can really make a difference in their own neighborhoods by capturing the trash before it gets into rivers and creeks, and ultimately also help keep it from polluting the ocean.

Last year in L.A County, about 10,000 Coastal Cleanup Day volunteers combed local rivers, lakes, creeks, wetlands, beaches and the ocean floor, collecting more than 60,000 pounds of trash and 3,000 pounds of recyclables.

With the help of Valley residents, even more garbage can be fished out. Inland sites are important because they not only keep trash from the ocean, but they clean up communities as well. The beaches will be packed with volunteers on California Coastal Cleanup Day, but we really could use more help in the San Fernando Valley and at other inland sites. They are the best line of defense for our oceans, and also help keep our neighborhoods and inland creeks clean.