Local Boys and Girls Club to Clean Up Laguna de Santa Rosa on National Day of Service

Martin Luther King Jr. once said, famously, that "everyone can be great, because everyone can serve." This year, volunteers from Rohnert Park and Cotati have heeded that message.

Cotati Creek Critters — a nonprofit that hosts environmental stewardship days to keep up local natural areas — regularly enlists the community, local schools, other nonprofits, Sonoma State University and sometimes the help of the city for work days. Now, the organization has teamed up with the local Boys and Girls Club to participate in the Martin Luther King Jr. Day of Service.

On Monday morning teams of volunteers, ages 5-12, who are involved in a program called "Helping Hands," part of the Boys and Girls Club of Central Sonoma County-Rohnert Park, will join Sonoma State volunteers in a Laguna de Santa Rosa cleanup day.

The day of service is part of a larger effort that aims to keep the laguna healthy. Volunteers regularly meet at two rotating work sites, donating their time to pull weeds, plant native shrubs, grasses and trees.

"The plants will help stabilize banks, reduce soil erosion, improve water quality and provide habitat for wildlife," according to organizers for Cotati Creek Critters. "The trees will eventually form a shady canopy, helping to keep water cool, which is beneficial for aquatic life and fish further downstream in the Laguna."

After the trash is collected Monday, it will be separated into piles appropriately for recycling, trash, re-use, etc. Volunteer leaders agreed the work day will help build a stronger community and sense of service, while maintaining a vital part of the county's ecosystem and water supply.

Club Director Micki Jones, together with Jenny Blaker and Wade Belew of Cotati Creek Critters said that "this is an ideal opportunity for the two groups to get together to help clean up the Laguna and at the same time raise awareness about waste and recycling."

Are you interested in participating? . Work days are held regularly, usually twice a month, from October through May. Go here if you'd like to get involved. Go here for directions to the work sites. Find out more about the MLK national day of service here.

Anyone participating is encouraged to:

• Wear boots or sturdy shoes suitable for wet or muddy conditions and rough ground. For safety reasons, open-toed sandals or flip-flops are not acceptable.
• Dress in comfortable, old clothes, with long pants and be prepared to get dirty. Shorts are not acceptable as you could be kneeling on rough or muddy ground. Long sleeves can help to protect you from thorns, etc.
• Dress in layers — the day may start cool and warm up later, or you may get hot working.
• We work rain or shine! Proper raingear is essential.
• Wear sunscreen and a hat, to protect you from sun and/or to keep warm in winter.
• We provide work gloves and tools.

A message from the organization: Tasks at work days may include planting native trees and shrubs, taking care of existing plants by weeding, mulching, and pruning, removing invasive plants, plant care and propagation in the nursery or other supportive tasks such as refurbishing used tools. What we do on any given day will depend on the weather and conditions at the project site, current priorities, numbers of volunteers and other factors. Planting does not begin until sufficient rain has fallen.