By VOICE & VIEWPOINT NEWSWIRE
On April 6, individuals and community groups from the City Heights area joined Caltrans, Clean California, I Love A Clean San Diego (ILACSD), Keep California Beautiful, and Keep America Beautiful to clean up and beautify Azalea Park.
Nearly 200 volunteers gathered to revitalize the park and cleaned up close to 300 pounds of litter, including garbage, household hazardous materials and recyclable materials. The group spruced up the Azalea Park Water Conservation Garden with California native plants and removed three dumpsters full of invasive plants, which can be harmful to the native plants and animals, and cause fire hazards, among other harmful effects.
The beautification included painting barbeque pits, restoring park benches and tables, and installing interpretive signs, including a map of the City Heights Canyon Loop Trail.
On hand to kick off and rally volunteers was Sean Elo-Rivera, District 9 Council President and Linda Pennington, Founder and President of Azalea Park Neighborhood Association, along with ILACSD and Keep California Beautiful representatives.
“Clean California and its local partners are grateful to the many volunteers that invested their time today to revitalize this beloved park,” said Gabriela Polo, Western Regional Director, Keep America Beautiful.
“By coming together to clean and beautify Azalea Park, an important landmark for City Heights residents, we’re doing more than picking up litter. We are building resilience, fostering a sense of ownership and pride, and creating a space where community bonds can grow stronger.”
This event was made possible by Governor Gavin Newsom’s Clean California initiative—a sweeping, $1.2 billion, multiyear cleanup effort led by Caltrans to remove trash, create thousands of jobs, and join communities throughout the state to reclaim, transform and beautify public spaces.
Clean California is not only helping to clean up San Diego highways, but also revitalizing
neighborhoods in every corner of California. The Azalea Park beautification effort was one of many taking place across the state with opportunities for volunteers to get involved. An upcoming opportunity to help is during Clean California Community Days, a series of cleanups, activities, and celebrations across the state, taking place April 19-22.
Visit CleanCA.com to learn more about how Clean California is transforming communities and how to get involved.
