End of year signals a new beginning

NATURAL PERSPECTIVES

Somehow, the end of one year and the beginning of a new one brings

out the introspective philosophers in us.

After reviewing our personal lives in 2002, Vic and I decided that

we want more of the same in 2003. This past year was a great one for

us, with lots of camping trips, birding excursions and romantic

getaways to spectacular locations.

We just returned from a wonderful weekend playing in the snow at a

gorgeous Lake Arrowhead bed and breakfast. As soon as we get the

clothes washed and repacked, we’re heading for Yosemite for more

outdoor winter fun.

Life has been good to us. In return, we try to give something of

ourselves back to our community. I volunteer with the police

department, spending one or two evenings a month at the Oakview

Police Substation.

Again this year, the Volunteers in Police Service put on a great

Halloween party for the kids in the Oak View neighborhood. Thanks to

the generosity of many local businesses and individuals, we were able

to give out apples, candy, small toys and popcorn, and bring some joy

to a lot of disadvantaged youngsters. About 800 kids laughed and

screamed their way through the haunted house that the volunteers

built. On Christmas Eve, Vic and I went with our Optimist group to

Juvenile Hall. Every year, we take pizzas and soft drinks to the unit

with the best Christmas spirit. Usually one of the girls’ units.

These kids may be in jail, but they are children, after all. We feel

that they deserve some sort of Christmas celebration. We try to bring

them a message of hope. Mostly we hope we won’t see the same ones in

jail again next year.

Although social issues are important to us, environmental issues

are our primary focus. I can’t tell you how many hours Vic volunteers

working on wetland and other environmental issues, but it’s a lot.

I’ve racked up quite a few hours myself this year working on the

Shipley Nature Center restoration project.

The first big restoration day put on by the Friends of the Shipley

Nature Center in November was a huge success. Hundreds of people,

most of them children, turned out to weed and plant. The next

restoration day will be held this Saturday from 9 a.m. to noon.

At November’s Shipley Restoration Day, Wave columnist Cindy Cross

and I ran a silent auction to help raise money to buy plants for the

next restoration day. OK, if I’m going to be honest, I have to

confess that Cindy ran the silent auction. I merely watched in

amazement at how smoothly she orchestrated the event.

Unfortunately, there were some whispers in the background from

people surprised that such a well-known anti-environmentalist would

deign to help an environmental project, but help is where you find

it.

Cindy and I actually work well together. She’s going to teach me

how to practice slash-and-burn wholesale destruction of the

environment and I’m going to turn her into a tree-hugging,

bleeding-heart liberal. Or maybe we’ll just do lunch and laugh for

hours like we did last time.

All in all, it’s been a great year. We’ve made some new friends,

worked hard on issues near and dear to our hearts and seen some

positive changes in town. Here is a smattering of highlights from the

past year.

Although the Bolsa Chica wetlands still aren’t restored, we hope

that cleanup of PCBs and other toxics will begin soon. This first

phase of the restoration is slated to begin in a few months.

Although the Bolsa Chica Ecological Reserve still suffers from

crumbling infrastructure, the walkbridge has been repaired, the holes

in the parking lot have received a temporary patch, and a lot of

iceplant has been removed. The next year should see even more

improvements.

The Bolsa Chica Mesa still isn’t saved, but with the passage of

Proposition 50, funding should become available to purchase at least

the lower mesa.

The good news from the Huntington Wetlands part of town is that

additional acreage has been transferred to the Huntington Wetlands

Conservancy and the sand dunes owned by Caltrans will soon be

transferred to the conservancy as well.

About a year ago, our editors asked us to write our environmental

column every week instead of every other week. We’re pleased that

we’ve had the opportunity to provide an environmental voice for our

community for nearly four years now.

There seems to be no shortage of environmental woes and successes

to write about. In the upcoming year, we’ll continue our tirades

against air pollution, water pollution, global warming and

over-population, plus address whatever new issues arise. We’ll

continue to encourage people to compost, conserve natural resources,

recycle and plant native plants. There are always positive ways in

which each of us can make a difference.

We are privileged to live in a community that cares passionately

about its environment, its parks, its ocean and its wetlands. Last

year was a very good year. Let’s see to it that 2003 is even better.

* VIC LEIPZIG and LOU MURRAY are Huntington Beach residents and

environmentalists. They can be reached at vicleipzig@aol.com.