Groups organizing to beautify Westside

Lolita Harper

WESTSIDE -- People from opposite sides of the city and the political

spectrum will join Saturday for a common cause -- to clean up Costa Mesa.

Organizers expect dozens of volunteers to pitch in and do their part

for the Keep Costa Mesa Beautiful campaign. Groups from Earth Resources

Foundation, the Westside Improvement Assn., Latino Business Council, UC

Irvine and members of the City Council will disperse throughout the

Westside to pick up litter.

“The great thing about this day -- that goes beyond environmental

awareness -- is the fact that so many groups are coming together and

working for a common goal,” said Kristen Day, an associate professor in

UCI’s Department of Urban and Regional Planning.

Councilwoman Linda Dixon, who helped start the campaign, said she

wants people to take pride in their community and get involved. The

cleanup serves as an educational tool for children and adults in learning

to dispose of trash properly, she said.

The Westside cleanup is the first of a series of events designed to

help beautify the city. Trash must be picked up now before the first

heavy rains carry it to the ocean, where it can cause even more damage,

said Stephanie Barger, executive director of Earth Resources Foundation.

Participants will not only pick up trash but will also track and

analyze it to get a better picture of what can be done to prevent litter,

Barger said.

“Hopefully, this will be a 50-year campaign,” Barger said.

Last month, the City Council gave the anti-litter group $10,000 to

fight the trash problems all over the city. The group has used the money

to buy trash cans to place along 19th Street. Barger said she also seeks

funding from the Environmental Protection Agency and the Department of

Conservation.

The campaign is designed to engage every aspect of the community, from

kids to senior citizens to business centers to property owners, Barger

said.

“We all have to work together so that we can all have a better life

and be more prosperous -- in ways that can’t be measured in money,” she

said.

FYI

* WHAT: Keep Costa Mesa Beautiful Westside Cleanup

* WHEN: 8:30 a.m. Saturday

* WHERE: Those who wish to participate can sign up at Smart & Final,

707 19th St.

* INFORMATION: (714) 754-5223