This April 30th Atwater Village was abuzz with community spirit as local villagers and volunteers from around the city participated in a brilliant day of cleanup and beautification projects at, in and around the Los Angeles River.
Heartfelt congratulations to Friends of the Los Angeles River’s (FOLAR) and the Mayor’s Office for combining “La Gran Limpieza” and LA River Day of Service, it made for a winning combination.
FOLAR’s annual “La Gran Limpieza” event to haul tons of trash out of the river was a huge success here in Atwater Village. Friends of Atwater Village (FAV) sponsored Atwater’s cleanup site at the Sunnynook Bridge. We saw 200 + nature lovers swarm the banks and islands in the river hauling out items that included shopping carts, mattress springs, mattresses, hub caps, metal poles, bed frames and rags not to mention tons of plastic bottles and bags. It was a beautiful day to be on the river. Thank you to FOLAR and our volunteers for their hard work and dedication to our river.
Here in Atwater Village projects for the Mayor’s L.A. River Day of Service took place at two sites. At Sunnynook the path leading up to the river was regraded and new decomposed granite applied to make it safer. The path improvement was made possible through funding by the mayor’s office and the Atwater Village Neighborhood Council and the hard work of Ray Valentine of Maintaining Mother Earth. Also, the knoll area at the foot of the path was weeded, cleaned and replanted by volunteers from the Northland Village Church following the design plan of Kathy Oberg, the Fairy Yard Mother.
The second location was at Atwater Avenue Elementary School, just blocks from the river. At the main entrance of the school you will see new plantings, the design done by landscape architects and local residents Colin and Rebecca Rudolph, a mosaic tile design by Kacy Treadway along the steps as well as a mural by Rafael Escamilla that points “To the River”. Thank you to Atwater Ave School Principal Charles Smith for his continuous commitment to our school, its students and the community. Many parents and community volunteers worked to get these projects completed with funding through the mayor’s office and the Atwater Village Neighborhood Council.
Lastly, FAV would like to give special thanks and appreciation to Fabiola Vilchez (Central Area Director, Mayor’s Office) who kept the Atwater’s Day of Service Committee on track and focused going above and beyond with determination, enthusiasm and a smile.
Sincerely,
Friends of Atwater Village
www.friendsofatwatervillage.org
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