Lots to learn, try at Harbor Sweep

Christine Carrillo

In a one-day clean sweep Saturday, the Newport Beach Harbor got a new

look -- one that was much cleaner.

Thanks to the hands of more than 160 people who volunteered their

time, the 23rd annual Clean Harbor Day Celebration turned into yet

another success.

Boats quickly filled up with garbage, as volunteers piled on piece

by piece at each of Newport’s beaches. Their efforts epitomizing the

event’s mantra “Don’t Trash Where You Splash.”

The event, sponsored by the Newport Harbor Nautical Museum, the

City of Newport Beach, the City Arts Commission and the Newport

Harbor Area Chamber of Commerce, also served as a platform to teach

the community about various environmental concerns.

“I think the purpose is to bring the community together with a

common bond,” said Dan Hamilton, of Malarkey’s Pub, who donated about

250 hot dogs for the volunteers. “We’re all in this together.”

From fire fighting demonstration by the Orange County Sheriff

Department’s Harbor Patrol to a water coloring booth and a display of

fifth-grade art depicting pollution, children also got a few tidbits

on how to keep the harbor tidy.

I’m here because “it was a sunny day and I wanted [my son] to

learn about clean-up and the environment,” said Linda Langley, a

Newport Beach resident who attended the event with her two young

children and their grandparents. “I just want it to be a part of his

life for his whole life, so it’s never something he has to think

about, he just does it.”

Learning the importance of protecting the environment from

pollution isn’t just a lesson for the children. In fact, many adults

never learned how important keeping their surroundings clean.

“It’s always important and we’re always enforcing environmental

issues in the harbor,” said Sheriff Deputy Brad Lofland, an 11-year

Harbor Patrol officer. “Environmental problems are the biggest ones

we have in the harbor.... [Generally] what we do is more of an

informational service but we push prosecutions pretty hard.”

With awareness of how behaviors within the community affect the

community’s harbor increasing and resulting in a much cleaner harbor,

event organizers hope to have a slightly different focus next year.

“There are a few people that are dedicated to making the harbor

clean for everybody,” said Glenn Zagoren, the president and chief

executive for the museum. “The harbor is getting cleaner and [the

event’s] been very successful. Next year we hope to have more of a

celebration of how clean the harbor is.”

* CHRISTINE CARRILLO covers education and may be reached at (949)

574-4268 or by e-mail at christine.carrillo@latimes.com.