VALLEY KIDS BEAUTIFY BEACH ON EARTH DAY; COASTAL CLEANUP OFFERS CHILDREN LESSONS ON POLLUTION'S EFFECTS.Byline: Deborah Sullivan and Rick Orlov Daily News Staff Writers Three thousand students left school Wednesday to go to the beach. It wasn't a case of mass truancy, but a school-sponsored Earth Day event in which children from throughout the city, including 750 from seven Valley schools, cleaned trash from Dockweiler State Beach Dockweiler State Beach is a California beach protected under the state park system. Part of the park is located directly under the flight path of the immediately adjacent Los Angeles International Airport. near Los Angeles International Airport “LAX” redirects here. For other uses, see LAX (disambiguation). “KLAX” redirects here. For other uses, see KLAX (disambiguation). Los Angeles International Airport (IATA: LAX, ICAO: KLAX, FAA LID: LAX . ``They're very enthusiastic,'' said Brenda Hunter Brenda J. Hunter is an American musician and composer best known as a hammered dulcimer player. She also plays Irish fiddle and classical piano, with the latter influence evident in her particular style on the dulcimer. , a first-grade teacher at Hart Street School in Canoga Park. ``They also know that the beach isn't just a place to play. It's a place where you can help clean up. They're very excited about that.'' The event began at 7 a.m. in the clear, crisp morning when the first of 50 buses rolled into the parking lot. The children fanned out across the sand, gathering bags of waste including bits of rubber, glass or plastic foam, cigarette butts and plastic bags. ``It's like your house and you're cleaning up,'' said Hart student Felicitas Cupa, 7, handing over a cigarette butt. ``People leave their garbage on the floor and maybe the wind comes and blows it in the water and maybe the animals think it's food and maybe they die,'' said Jeanine Guerrero, 7, also of Hart. Most of the students were prepared for the event through lectures by Michael Klubock, executive director of the Malibu Foundation for Environmental Education. He told the children about ``recycling, the danger of plastic in the ocean, and about storm drains storm drain n. 1. A storm sewer. 2. A catch basin. , so they can see how trash in their neighborhoods makes its way down to the sea.'' ``We show pictures of birds, seals and turtles all tangled up in six-pack rings and choking Choking Definition Choking is the inability to breathe because the trachea is blocked, constricted, or swollen shut. Description Choking is a medical emergency. When a person is choking, air cannot reach the lungs. on trash, and it's a very strong motivator for the kids,'' he said. Despite its serious message, the event had the feel of a party, with a radio disk jockey broadcasting live and performances of drumming and folkloric dance by students from Pacoima. Performing arts magnet students from Robert A. Millikan Middle School in Sherman Oaks used the event as a springboard to create public service announcements about pollution. ``We went on the Internet and we researched the topic,'' said sixth-grader Pearl Newton. ``We found that animals are dying because of the trash and that when trash goes in the water it goes into the ocean. We started making storyboards and then we're going to tape it Friday or Monday.'' The commercials will be aired throughout the school and delivered to environmental groups, said teacher Stacy Sinclair. And in a bid to promote recycling among adults on Earth Day, the state Department of Conservation gave the city of Los Angeles
Officials said the bins will be used at the special events in which the city participates, such as the Los Angeles Marathon The Los Angeles Marathon is an annual marathon held in Los Angeles, California since 1986. It was inspired by the success of the 1984 Summer Olympics held in Los Angeles. The race starts at about 8:15AM and runs through Downtown Los Angeles, Koreatown, the Crenshaw district, and and Cinco De Mayo Cinco de Mayo (Spanish; “Fifth of May”) Mexican holiday commemorating the Mexican victory over the French at Puebla in 1862. The French army, better-equipped and far larger than the Mexican army, had been sent by Napoleon III to conquer Mexico. celebrations. ``I hope everybody uses Earth Day as an inspiration to preserve and protect our precious resource, the environment,'' Mayor Richard Riordan Richard J. Riordan (born May 1, 1930) is a Republican politician from California, U.S. who served as the California Secretary of Education from 2003–2005 and as Mayor of Los Angeles from 1993–2001. Riordan ran for Governor of California unsuccessfully in 2002. said. CAPTION(S): 4 Photos PHOTO (1) Allison Arguelles, 11, and classmates Classmates can refer to either:
(2) Some of the cleanup's 3,000 participating students form a message - Save Our Seas - during Wednesday's Earth Day celebration. (3 -- 4) Left, Joey Amicangelo and Nick Bryant pause to gaze at the waves during Wednesday's beach cleanup. Above, children keep track of the trash they found. Approximately 3,000 youths participated in the cleanup. David R. Crane/Daily News |
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