On Saturday, Sept. 17, residents of Santa Clarita came together to clean the Santa Clara riverbed as part of the annual River Rally, which has been held by The City of Santa Clarita since 1994. From 8 to 11 a.m., volunteers gathered to pick up litter on the riverbed along Wiley Canyon Road.

  Volunteers were advised to register for the event and then proceed to the biologist training booth to learn about safety procedures and what to do if they came across an animal or any sort of wildlife. After completing these steps, attendees were given trash bags and gloves to get to work.

   Once they did their part in cleaning the riverbed, volunteers received shaved ice and other free handouts at a plethora of sponsored booths. Volunteers were able to visit the Environmental Expo to learn about recycling, air quality, pollution prevention, water quality, wildlife conservation and more ways to contribute to saving the environment.

   Compared to prior years, this year’s River Rally had a few additions to the event. . Kelly Kacmar, the coordinator of the event and a member of the environmental services team, explained that “This year, we had a vactor truck that the kids could see and get up close to, which is the truck that the storm water crew uses to clear out the storm drains in the city.” She continued, “this year, we also had Sammy Clarita show up, the city’s mascot.”

   With the new additions, the 2022 River Rally was a successful gathering of over 1,200 volunteers. West Ranch clubs like Key Club, NHS, Go Green and others encouraged their members to participate in this environmentally friendly event.

   Sana Meher, president of West Ranch Key Club, gave her insight on the event: “Our environment is actually pretty dirty with a lot of trash here and there. We might as well do our best to get rid of as much trash as we can.”

   The River Rally was an important event for Key Club, whose main mission is to volunteer in and serve their local community. Many Key Club members from other schools, including Valencia High School, also attended the event to help out by picking up trash.

   The Santa Clara River, a thirteen mile river that runs throughout the city, is possibly the destination of waste that isn’t disposed properly. “We all know about the storm drains that are on the end of our streets in the city and you will see the stamp on them that says ‘leads to the ocean,’ so in actuality the storm drains here lead directly to the Santa Clara River,” Kacmar explained. “Any litter, pesticide, dog waste or bacteria that gets washed down into your gutter goes into the storm drain and ends up in the Santa Clara River.” 

   Because the riverbed is a vital addition to our city, it is crucial to continue taking action to ensure the well being and protection of this resource by participating in service events like the annual River Rally.

   This event continues to be a significant tradition for the residents of Santa Clarita. “There’s thousands of people who sign up for this and it’s sort of like the pinnacle service event in the city,” Meher concluded.