California Lutheran University students and Volunteer Ventura! set goal to remove 10 Tons of Trash from Ventura Riverbed August 31, 2010

 On August 31, a group of 550 students from California Lutheran University (CLU) will arrive in Ventura to participate in the City of Ventura’s largest annual volunteer project – removing tons of trash from the Ventura Riverbed.  For the third consecutive year, Volunteer Ventura! and CLU will partner in one of the largest service learning projects of its kind and their goal this year is to remove “10 tons in 2010.”

Donning face masks and gloves, the entire incoming freshman class and transfer students will descend upon the Ventura river bottom to remove mounds of trash left behind by the homeless population that reside in the area known locally as “hobo jungle”.  Last year, CLU students joined forces with City of Ventura staff and removed more than seven and a half tons of trash from the Ventura Riverbed.

Students will again work alongside City of Ventura staff from Parks/ Recreation/Community Partnership Department, Public Works, Finance & Technology, and Community Development beginning south at the Ventura River mouth and spreading out north along the riverbed.

Click to view 2010 CLU Cleanup Media Kit

MEDIA NOTES: Students arrive @1 pm; Clean up takes place 1:30-3:45 pm; Closing comments by Councilmember and CLU President 4:15-4:30 pm.

Reporters may contact on site: Cary Glenn 805/766-5226 and Rosie Ornelas 312/519-5514 (cell phone numbers).

The cleanup program began in 2008 when Stine Odegard, CLU’s Coordinator for Community Service, asked the City’s Volunteer Ventura! Program to work with the University on creating a service learning opportunity that would engage all of their new students at one site during the school’s orientation week. Together, they came up with the environmental cleanup program called “You Got Served.”

“We believe that getting all 550 incoming students to help with the river clean-up in their first few days on campus is a great way to introduce them to CLU’s commitment to service and justice and to connect them to the local community in a meaningful way,” Odegard said.

CLU President Dr. Chris Kimball and other faculty members will join in the cleanup efforts as students are exposed to the stark realities of being homeless, the impact trash can have on the natural environment, and the environmental challenges it creates for the community and city. Under new environmental regulatory requirements, the City of Ventura could be fined as much as $25,000 per day if pollutant levels exceed already stringent water discharge standards. This annual cleanup greatly reduces the waste washed into the ocean during the wet winter months. Afterwards, students walk down to the beach to reflect upon the project.

Peter Brown, Community Services Manager for the City of Ventura, explains the long-term significance of bringing students together in this project: "The annual clean-up event serves as a stark and vivid reminder that there are hundreds of individuals living in conditions that are unfit for human beings and how important it is for us to continue to move forward as a community toward a year-round emergency homeless shelter. Clearly not all river bottom residents would utilize those beds, however, many indicate that they want to get out of the squalor."

Local waste disposal company, E.J. Harrison, and the Water Store will provide services and donations to make the cleanup a success.

The City of Ventura recently became a member of Cities of Service, a bipartisan coalition of more than 100 mayors of large and small cities across the country who work together to lead a multi-year effort to expand impact volunteerism by identifying the most pressing problems, by strategically directing local service efforts to these challenges and by measuring their impact. The coalition and its member cities respond to the Edward M. Kennedy Serve America Act's historic call to action by finding new and innovative ways to harness the power of volunteers to help solve pressing local challenges.

Like other financially strapped cities, the City of Ventura is increasing its emphasis on partnerships with the local community to accomplish projects that lack funding. The City’s partnership with CLU is a great example of what can be accomplished when the public and private sectors work together.

For more information, please contact City of Ventura Volunteer Coordinator Rosie Ornelas at 805-652-4555 or rornelas@cityofventura.net.