SABRINA JONES
Staff Writer
If someone is bundled up in front of the Special Programs building at 8:30 a.m. on a blustery Saturday, it must be for a specific cause.
On the morning of Jan. 28, that specific cause was the betterment of Malibu Creek Park.
Heal the Bay, a water-surveying and ecological monitoring program, called upon their “Stream Team” to remove a member of the parsnip family known as poison hemlock. Poison hemlock ranks from moderate to high in toxicity ratings and can cause nervousness, depression, coma and death upon consumption in animals and humans.
The hemlock is bountiful in the area, and four to five pounds of leaves can be lethal to a horse.
Aside from the fact that the hemlock is a danger to native species, it is also a threat to the water supply that rushes right by abundant uprisings of hemlock. In addition, the hemlock is a non-native species of vegetation and pushes out non-poisonous plants that can double as shelter and a food supply for local wildlife.
Each weekend, a handful of dedicated volunteers gather to venture into the virtual unknown to give of their time and effort. The volunteers are not only Pepperdine students, but also members of the greater Malibu community, ranging in age from adolescence to adulthood.
The founder of the Stream Team, Mark Abramson, completed his undergraduate at Pepperdine University as an accounting major.
Abramson ventured out one day to his favorite dive spot off of the coast to find that the kept forest and offshore reefs had been destroyed by pollution. He witnessed firsthand the reality that the Los Angeles County area has some of the most heavily used and inadvertently dirtiest beaches.
Abramson’s experience shook him, and he became resolute in working to help the environment. For his graduate work, Abramson attended Cal Poly-Pomona and completed a degree in landscape architecture. The concept of the Stream Team was initially started as a watershed investigation network.
After five years of monitoring activity in Malibu Creek, the data they found changed water quality standards and catapulted Clean Water Act legislation into motion.
Since its establishment, volunteers with the Stream Team have worked to remove five acres of invasive vegetation without the use of dangerous chemicals or obtrusive equipment. Also, the establishment of field guide water monitoring systems has successfully been implemented in Ventura, San Diego and Santa Barbara.
“More Pepperdine people need to be involved in the restoration of this area since they are its beneficiaries,” Abramson said. “Not often do people get a chance to hang out in a place like this with minimal responsibility.”
Since the programs’ inception, 5,500 people have been intensively trained in six-hour sessions.
Freshman Megan Westervelt, a Stream Team member, was enticed by the environmental volunteer opportunities at the beginning-of-the-year Volunteer Fair. Before attending Pepperdine, Westervelt worked on conservation efforts in Costa Rica.
“Talking to people who are conscious about the future and human’s impact on the world we live in is important on a personal level and also at a global level,” Westervelt said. “It doesn’t take much time to make the world a more beautiful place. We should be humble to the earth we live on.”
Malibu is taking strides to improve their environmental awareness. In fact, $25 million of Malibu’s money acquired the last open space in Malibu, the Chili Cook-Off land.
Even at Pepperdine’s campus, students are taking charge of the grounds they enjoy.
Luke Larsen, a senior English major from Massachusetts, works at the Campus Volunteer Center.
“It is important for people to give of their time and hands-on personal effort, even more so than merely fundraising or the bureaucracy of non-profit work,” Larsen said.
“The importance of getting involved and maintaining our environment is solely based on volunteer efforts,” he said.
Since he was a young boy, Larsen was constantly exposed to the untamed beauty of nature. His father, a local overseer of town trails stressed the value of being outdoors, hiking, and taking responsibility for the things you enjoy.
To contact the Stream Team, go to www.healthebay.org or call (310) 453-7927.
03-16-2006