Mike SciaccaArmed with sun block and a...

Mike Sciacca

Armed with sun block and a community service spirit, 15 Brownies from Troop 627 descended by caravan Saturday on Huntington State Beach.

The gaggle of girls from Whittier were joined by volunteers

statewide who participated in the seventh annual California State

Parks Foundation’s Earth Day 2004 Restoration and Cleanup Projects.

Huntington State Beach was one of four county beach or parks, and

eight areas in Southern California, overall, to undergo cleaning and

maintenance Saturday.

Volunteers cleaned the berm, shoreline, around fire rings, fences,

planter and tern preserve for a three-mile stretch.

“We stress to our girls the importance of taking care of our

environment and working together,” said Valorie Wibbens, who, along

with Nicole Frias, are team leaders of Troop 627. “This beach has

been a hang out for our families for such a long time, so we are more

than happy to come down here to help clean up a beach we use so

often.”

Nearly 40 people combed the beach Saturday, following early

morning instruction from retired California Sate Parks senior park

aide, Rob Robbins.

“I’ve been a part of this for the past six years,” Robbins said.

“We get locals to come out for this but for the most part, the

cleanup attracts education groups.

“The beach is always a draw and an event like this gives people a

sense of ownership of a beach they get use out of. They do a great

job out there.”

Robbins gave a talk on safety instruction and discussed what

participants should and shouldn’t pick up -- glass, needles or

“anything sharp,” was a no-no. Following a group picture, they were

sent out to comb the beach.

The group scattered in either direction on the sand, carrying

large, plastic bags, wearing gloves, and some used a prong apparatus

to collect garbage.

The beach was pretty clean to begin with, and most of the bags

were not even half full following the three-hour cleanup.

Vicky Koerner, an active senior citizen, made the trip to Surf

City from her home in Yorba Linda.

She brought two friends with her. One of them, 16-year-old Jess Lileywhite, a junior at El Dorado High School, did the beach cleanup

as part of community service credit he needed toward graduation.

“I think that more people should take pride in their environment,”

said Koerner, who also does work with Habitat for Humanity. “It’s

really important to protect our environment and all who inhabit it.

I’ve always taught my children that when they visit a place, they

should leave it better than they found it. My goal today is to leave

this beautiful beach looking even better than it does.”

* MIKE SCIACCA covers sports and features. He can be reached at

(714) 965-7171 or by e-mail at michael.sciacca@latimes.com.