Santa Clarita Residents Volunteer To Help Support Native Wildlife

Santa Clarita residents volunteered to help provide more food and shelter for pollinators, birds, deer and other animals of the chaparral ecosystem over the weekend.

Volunteers took to Elsmere Canyon Open Space in Newhall and Golden Valley Ranch Open Space at Placerita Canyon to clean up invasive plants and provide homes for native wildlife on behalf of the City of Santa Clarita.

Started in 2021 with the help of local Santa Clarita residents and the help of the City of Santa Clarita, aiming to improve the beauty and health of our natural areas by supporting native plants and animals and removing invasive species and trash.

“We started in 2021 by taking black mustard out of an area. It was completely covered in black mustard, which is a weed which dies back at the end of the summer and becomes a fire hazard,” said Coordinator Mary Herr. “So we’ve taken that out over there and put in 20 different species of native plants.”

Herr, a lover of native plants, supports her own personal garden of native species at her home.

“To figure out that somebody was actually taking the native plants and putting them in the wild land, that was like a lightbulb moment, ‘Wow!’ So we just eventually started our own project here,” Herr continued.

Over the weekend, volunteers helped water plants, weed, and prepare the area for additional planting.

Children ages 11-16 were required to be accompanied by a parent/guardian who is also registered to volunteer and contribute with hours they are given from school.

“I have service hours at my school, I need to do 20 hours by the end of the year,” said Matthew Garcia, a student volunteer.

Stacy Garcia, Matthew’s mom, was impressed with what the city has to offer those seeking volunteer hours.

“The city has a great volunteer website, look at the volunteer area, and there are tons of opportunities,” Stacy said. “I think it’s really important for Matthew, especially. I’m a big, volunteer person and we’ll keep doing it.”

For more information on how to be a volunteer, visit the City of Santa Clarita Volunteers website or email volunteers@santa-clarita.com

Charles Calvario | KHTS News

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