Annual Arroyo Simi Cleanup Scheduled

Coastal Cleanup Day is rolling around again soon and, once again, the City of Moorpark will host an event to clean up a section of Arroyo Simi, the waterway that runs through town.

This year's event will take place from 9 a.m. to noon Sept. 15. Residents interested in volunteering should meet near the pedestrian bridge at Villa Campesina Park, 4704 Leta Yancy Road. 

Most local schools recognize the hours volunteered on Coastal Cleanup Day towards the graduation requirement for service hours. 

The city asks those joining the effort this year to bring a bucket to the cleanup for collecting trash. Volunteers should bring a lightweight pair of gardening gloves from home and can also bring a filled, reusable water bottle to the cleanup. If possible, consider carpooling to the event.

Moorpark Rubbish Disposal will donate two three-cubic-yard bins so that volunteers can dump what they collect in their bucket. The Simi Valley Landfill will provide free disposal service for trash collected during Coastal Cleanup Day.

The Coastal Cleanup Day project is coordinated internationally by the Ocean Conservancy, which compiles and publishes data from the cleanups each year. Though Moorpark isn’t on the coast, the water—and trash—from Arroyo Simi eventually makes its way to the Pacific Ocean after winding through Somis and Camarillo.

Last year, Moorpark volunteers cleared about 300 pounds of trash from the arroyo, and more than 3,000 volunteers from Ventura County collected more than 12,000 pounds of trash and recyclables for California Coastal Cleanup Day. Statewide, more than 70,000 volunteers joined together to collected more than 1.3 million pounds of debris from the California shoreline. When combined with the International Coastal Cleanup, organized by The Ocean Conservancy and taking place on the same day, California Coastal Cleanup Day becomes part of one of the largest volunteer events of the year.

For more information, contact City Hall at 805-517-6257.