Janin Robarte knows first-hand how beneficial Monday’s Escondido Creek Trail cleanup will be for her community.
The 16-year-old Escondido resident is taking part in a Martin Luther King, Jr., Day of Service project through the San Diego County Health and Human Services Agency’s Communities of Excellence Project (CX3).
“I walk that trail,” she said. “I’m really excited to help out and pick up trash.
“We’re all a part of our community and it helps make it a better place.”
The creek cleanup is from noon until 4 p.m. and is sponsored by HHSA, the Escondido Education COMPACT and Care Youth Project.
Anyone interested in joining is asked to meet at the former Fresh & Easy parking lot at 425 N. Ash Street. All cleanup materials are provided and no registration is required.
Robarte and Carolina Ruiz, 19, are hoping for a large turnout of volunteers to clean up a 12-block section of the trail. It’s the second year the CX3 youth have done a cleanup day at the trail.
“We’ve been trying to get the word out about it,” said Ruiz. “We feel that if we clean up the trail it will make it safer and friendlier for everyone to walk it.”
The trail is in the heart of the city and is a route used by children on their way to school and residents looking to connect to transit options.
“The trail is widely used by pedestrians and bicyclists,” said Ruiz.
The CX3 project is a youth-led program that works to make their community healthier and safer and promotes walking. Participants survey neighborhoods for pedestrian safety issues and then work on solutions.
“CX3 gives me a lot of interesting experiences and motivates me to help out my community,” said Ruiz. “It’s all about getting more resources to make the community healthier.”
Robarte is fairly new to CX3, but likes the way it empowers her to make changes for the better.
“I just started with the program, but I like how involved in my community I can be and enjoy advocating for a healthy community,” she said. “It just makes it a better place to live overall and it’s allowed me to get to know my community better.”
