CREEK TO BAY DAY 2008
THANK YOU!
The City of Oakland Public Works Agency wishes to thank all the volunteers who helped make Creek to Bay Day 2008 a resounding success! Oakland’s 13 th annual Creek to Bay Day took place at Lake Merritt and twenty-three creek locations on Saturday, September 20, 2008, as part of California Coastal Cleanup Day .
Oakland residents from all neighborhoods displayed an extraordinary volunteer spirit on Coastal Cleanup Day. In addition to the nearly 1,000 volunteers participating in Creek to Bay Day , hundreds more gathered along the shoreline at cleanup sites managed by the East Bay Regional Park District . All toll, 1,364 volunteers came out to improve Oakland’s waterways and their environs. Volunteers collected 5,873 pounds of trash from Oakland's creeks, shorelines and Lake Merritt; picked up 90 pounds of recyclables ; removed 321 cubic yards of green waste to make way for native plants to flourish; and labeled 150 storm drains with durable stainless steel markers bearing the message "No Dumping, Drains to Bay” or “No Dumping, Drains to Lake”.
The prize for the Most Unusual Item found during the event, a dog named Amy who was missing for over a month, went to a volunteer at Lion Creek in McCrea Park. Amy was found malnourished and living along the creek. She was captured and taken to an Animal Shelter, where she was immediately recognized by staff because the owner had been searching for her for over a month. Amy has been reunited with her grateful owner and the volunteer who discovered her has been awarded a pair of tickets to Radio Alice’s Now and Zen Festival .
Creek to Bay Day is held as part of International Coastal Cleanup Day and is sponsored in California by the California Coastal Commission . By current count, the statewide event turned out 63,482 volunteers who removed 814,154 pounds of trash and 132,277 pounds of recyclables!
There are many people who deserve special recognition for their role in making Creek to Bay Day 2008 our best event yet. Our first thank you goes to the Community Site Coordinators who arranged for great projects to take place at each of our twenty-three locations and whose commendable efforts kept the day running smoothly. Thank you also to Waste Management for providing debris boxes, to Whole Foods in Oakland for donating food, to Civicorps for providing water, and to the Alameda County Flood Control and Water Conservation District for its financial support. This event was also made possible through the participation of City staff in the Keep Oakland Clean and Beautiful and Parks and Building Services divisions, which provided tools and debris pickup. Creek to Bay Day is coordinated by the City's Public Works Agency , Environmental Services Division .
For more information about this event, or to join the mailing list for this and other cleanup/beautification efforts, please email the Creek to Bay Protection program at creektobayprotection@oaklandnet.com .
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