Saturday morning saw the participation of children from Newhall Community Center after school program and the Mayor LaureneWeste in a tree planting ceremony in honor of Earth Day.
The tree planting event was held at the Newhall Community Center in conjunction with the Neighborhood Clear-Up event. Residents were able to pick supplies that would help them clean up their neighborhood.
Weste stated that it was important to have children and stressed the importance of teaching the next generation about the environment.
How long do you want the planet to last? If you don’t help teach kids about nature and trees and plants and things that create air and provide food, said Weste, I mean, they will be the ones that in the future will be teaching their kids. We need to maintain that consistency. It’s very important for human beings to have that relationship to Earth and plants and, and let them be involved in nature and then they appreciate it.
Weste stated that Santa Clarita has been a park-and-tree-friendly city since its inception and holds arborism high in high regard. This practice is part the city’s efforts to combat climate change, Weste said.
Everything we have planted in the city is drought-tolerant and we are the largest user of smart controller water systems so that they only water when it’s absolutely needed, and they shut down when it rains. We’re the largest user of that than any city in the United States, said Weste. We also bought 13,000 acres open space, which helps us keep our air clean and our waters clear and allows us to enjoy the outdoors. We’re connecting wildlife corridors. 13,000 acres of open land has never been purchased by any other American city.
Weste was not the only one there. City Council members Marsha MacLean, Cameron Smyth, and Bill Miranda were also present. The community center’s back lot is where the crape myrtle was placed.
The parking lot at the center was also one among three locations where residents could pick-up supplies for the neighborhood clean-up. The others were Central Park, Canyon Country Community Center, and the Canyon Country Community Center.
Darin Seegmiller is the environmental services manager for Santa Clarita. He said that the event was not only about keeping Santa Clarita’s streets clean but also has other reasons.
Seegmiller said that one of the most important things for us as a community and as a municipality is keeping trash out of the Santa Clara River. When you drive through town, you will see trash and other items in the storm drains and gutters. It will eventually, when it rains out, get carried to the Santa Clara River. And obviously that’s a problem because the Santa Clara River is a very vital resource to our ecosystem and wildlife and for recreation.
Seegmiller stated that while large-scale projects can be great for improving Santa Clarita’s environmental conditions, small lifestyle changes and decisions can also have a significant impact.
This is just our effort to help people focus on those small decisions, you know, do I flick it out the window or do I more than hold on to it for a few more minutes until I’m home, where I can throw it away, said Seegmiller. We’re reallygrateful for the community for coming out and supporting this type of event. These events can only be made possible by the volunteers of the community. And so we’re just extremely grateful for everybody taking time out of their weekend to come and support us.
