The Bay Foundation and Friends of Ballona Wetlands recently hosted volunteers from across regional offices of Yahoo! on a tour of the Ballona Wetlands Ecological Reserve (BWER), followed by restoration efforts.
The volunteers participated as part of the company’s “Yahoo for Good” program.
The morning started with The Bay Foundation staff—Watersheds Program Manager, Ivan Medel, and Field & Research Technician, Rod Abbott—providing the volunteers background and history of the area, as well as explaining what wetlands are and how they function when healthy.
The purple-shirted group of more than 20 adults and children, most of whom had never been to the Reserve, stood above it and got a sense of the scale and some of the surrounding urbanization in Marina del Rey and the watershed.
After a lunch break, the group joined Friends of Ballona Wetlands’ Patrick Tyrrell who shared the history of the Friends and their efforts, and then lead the volunteers to the Ballona Creek levee where they collected 12 bags of trash, totaling 139 pounds.
Tyler Vickers, one of the Yahoo for Good coordinators, said working with The Bay Foundation and the Friends of Ballona Wetlands was a fun and rewarding experience for all of the Yahoos involved, many of whom expressed their desire to work with both foundations again in the future.
“The restoration work we did proved to all of us volunteers that wetlands are a crucial part of our community that absolutely need our help and dedication when it comes to cleaning them up and keeping them safe for years to come,” Vickers said.
To inquire about a corporate volunteer day, contact either Rod Abbott at The Bay Foundation via rabbott@santamonicabay.org, or the Friends of Ballona Wetlands at patrickt@ballonafriends.org.
