| Mailing Address |
| PO Box 162774 Sacramento, CA 95816 |
| Hours |
| 9:00AM – Noon: Creek Clean Up, Noon – 2:00PM: Creek Week Celebration |
| Phone |
| (916) 454-4544 |
| Website |
| http://www.saccreeks.org/ |
| http://www.creekweek.net/ |
| http://www.facebook.com/pages/Creek-Week/276166132408500/ |
| President of Creek Council |
| Alta Tura |
| Pushing Forces behind the Creek Council when established |
| Smith and Frank Cruzen |
| Established |
| 2008 |
Sacramento Creek Week Council
Come Help Clean Up the Creeks in Your Area
Establishment
The Sacramento Creek Council was established in 1980. This council was a chapter of the Urban Creeks Council which was a statewide organization. Formally known as the Sacramento Urban Creeks Council, Smith and Frank Cruzen were the motivating force behind the organization. The Urban Creeks Council evolved into a Bay Area, non-profit organization and discarded its chapter; which, lead to the formation of the Sacramento Area Creeks Council in 2008.
Our Mission
The mission statement of the Sacramento Creeks Council is to” provide information, educational resources and stewardship opportunities that encourage the protection, restoration and maintenance of natural streams in Sacramento County”. The Council also takes pride in the opportunity to “educate the general public on the aesthetic, recreational and ecological values of natural streams” (“Creek Week”).
Objectives from Sacramento Creek Council Bylaws: (a) to encourage the protection, restoration and maintenance of natural streams in Sacramento County; (b) to educate the general public about the benefits of natural streams and how individuals can contribute to the health of streams through their practices and acts of service; (c) to provide service opportunities, such as creek cleanups, to people of all ages, including community members, students, service groups, and businesses; (d) to support the use of creeks as outdoor classrooms by offering to teachers: workshops, curriculum, classroom presentations, and the use of equipment with which to conduct creek studies; (e) support and/or conduct water quality monitoring efforts; (f) support and participate in watershed group planning efforts; (g) support and co-sponsor grants to preserve and restore creeks to their natural corridors; (h) educate policy and advisory bodies on the benefits of natural creeks and the policies and practices that promote creek preservation; (i) support and participate in the removal of exotic invasive plants from creeks and their corridors; and (j) work in partnership with other nonprofits, governments, businesses, park districts, and special service districts to achieve improved water quality, flood protection, habitat, recreation opportunities.
(Tura)
2011’s Creek Week Celebration and its Success
On April 16, 2011, over 2,000 volunteers attended the Creek Week Event. There were over 50 Locations that spread along the water banks of close to 30 miles in the Sacramento Area. The garbage haul for this year was 21 tones. Not only did volunteers remove cluttering garbage, but they removed “Invasive plants to make room for native plants”. After the cleanup, volunteers gathered for lunch while some participated in the Sculpture Contest. (Sacramento Area Creeks Council)
How You Can Get Involved
Sacramento Creek Council holds their big event, Creek Week, every year for the creeks around the Sacramento Area. Local residents are urged to participate in this event to clean up their area. Items such as barbed wire, shopping carts, plastic bags, tires, and even traffic cones are pulled out of the creeks each year. Sacramento Creek Council hosts this event each year to clear out the creeks, but also to encourage the residents to protect the creeks and refrain from polluting. They offer helpful facts and education on the plants and wildlife that inhabit the area.
2012 Creek Week Time and Date
Creek Week is scheduled to take place on Saturday, April 14, 2012 from the hours of 9:00 AM to Noon, for the Creek Cleanup, and from Noon-2:00 PM for the celebration. Locations in the area as well as items that are useful to bring are listed in later sections. Several stations are set up with a director who will hand out garbage bags for the trash that is collected. A free T Shirt and Lunch is given to the Volunteers at the celebration. The celebration will take place at 5750 Grant Avenue, Carmichael, Parking in park and surrounding streets. Local groups, volunteers, and sponcers set up informational booths at the celebration. This is where the participants can learn about the types of plants and animals that inhibit the creeks and the harms that are done without their support and help. A sculpture contest is held each year for the participants if they choose. The items that are pulled out of the creeks can be brought to the celebration and assembled for various prizes. Sign up for this event starts in March and is done online, at www.creekweek.net or by phone. A list of locations and their directors can be found on this website along with the phone number for sign ups if needed.
Group locations are as followed:
Antelope: Dry Creek and its tributaries, Goat and Sierra Creeks Carmichael & Arden-Arcade: Arcade, Brooktree Creeks and Chicken Ranch Slough Citrus Heights: Arcade, San Juan, and Cripple Creeks Natomas, North Sacramento, &North Highlands: Arcade, Don Julio, Dry, Magpie, Robla, Bannon, and Steelhead Creeks Orangevale: Community Calendar (Very little trash to pick up, good for small children) Rio Linda: Dry Creek Galt: Galt Community Park S. Sacramento Country& Rancho Cordova: Florin, Laguna, Elder, and Morrison Creeks Folsom: Willow, Humbug, Hinkle and Alder Creeks. Children, as well as adults are encouraged to participate in the Creek Week Celebration, but it is asked the adults are present to watch over children for their safety. The stream banks can be slippery and debris could be hazardous.
(Sacramento Area Creeks Council)
Recommended Items for You to Bring:
Drinking Water A Bucket or Re-Useable bag to collect trash (Per Person) Comfortable, washable clothes Long Pants and Long Sleeves Shoes that can get wet and muddy Hat and Sunscreen Gloves (Work or gardening) Grabbing Tool or rake (Optional) Waterproof Boots (Optional)
(Sacramento Area Creeks Council)
Can’t make this event, then, how can you help?
Here are some other ways you can help the Sacramento Creeks Council protect our creeks
When debris is dumped in storm drains, they flow to the local creeks which then flow to the river, leading to our drinking water. Clogging of these storm drains can lead to flooding which could lead to property damage. Erosion of the creek banks is destructive to the habitat and vegetation.
Dispose of hazardous material properly, not in the storm drains, and help by clearing out the collection of leaves and other debris from entering the storm drain.
Safe Disposal of Oil, Toxics, and Pesticides:
Sacramento County Hazardous Waste: (916)-379-0500 City Of Folsom: (916)-355-7272
To Report Obstructions or Toxic Spills in Channels:
Sacramento County Drainage Maintenance (916)-875-5171 City of Citrus Heights (916)-727-4770 City of Folsom (916)-355-7272
To Report Illegal Dumping:
City of Sacramento (916)-264-5948 City of Citrus Heights (916)-727-4770 City of Folsom (916)-355-7229 County of Sacramento (916)-874-8024
You can get more information on how you can volunteer and other organizations that contribute on Sacramento Creek Council’s Website, http://www.saccreeks.net. Works Cited
"Creek Week 2011." Creek Week. Sacramento Area Creeks Council, 01 Oct 2011. Web. 21 Oct 2011. www.Creekweek.org
"Creek Week." Sacramento Area Creeks Council. N.p., n.d. Web. 21 Oct 2011. www.creekweek.net
Photographs from the personal collection of Alysa Dunn.
Tura, Alta. E-mail Interview. 21 OCT 2011.
This report was written for Cynthia Linville’s English 20 class at CSU Sacramento Fall 2011.
