On April 17, volunteers from Bakersfield gathered together in an effort to clean up the city in the annual event known as the Great American Cleanup, which took place at Yokuts Park.

In conjunction with the GAC this year, the event also featured the Greater Bakersfield Green Expo, which showcased local businesses that focus on eco-conscious alternatives for daily living.

Bob Lerude, vice chairman for Keep Bakersfield Beautiful, the organization that coordinated the GAC, discussed the event and what the volunteers involved did to clean up Bakersfield.

“Today, we’ve got 140 ‘hot spots’ throughout the Bakersfield Metro area where we have people planting trees, putting in flowers, erasing graffiti, picking up trash and doing all types of that kind of work.

“We’re expecting 7,000 people, or about that number, to work on these hot spots, and around ten o’clock, they all come back here to get a free lunch. Then we’re going to have a little awards ceremony where we’re going to recognize sponsors and we’re going to give out volunteer of the year awards and that type of thing,” said Lerude.

Lerude also said that GET buses would be assisting with transportation to Yokuts Park for large groups volunteering with the cleanup around town.

KBB is part of a national organization known as Keep America Beautiful, which has affiliates in cities across the country that gather annually in their hometowns to host their own “clean-up” type events.

According to Lerude, Bakersfield has had more volunteers than any other city for the last three of four years with the exception of last year; that title went to the city of Philadelphia with over 12,000 volunteers.

Lerude and Bakersfield City Mayor Harvey Hall, who is the head coordinator for the event, hope to regain that honor this year.

The Green Expo this year had 51 vendors and 50 student exhibits that focused on recycling and eco-friendly concepts. The exhibits consisted of entries from 14 different high schools in Bakersfield, according to Ray Scott, chairman for the Greater Bakersfield Green Expo and head coordinator for the event.

Scott spoke about the objectives of the vendors involved.

“They’re displaying the ‘green’ parts of life, like things that you can be doing at your home or office to help with renewable energy and recycling, things of that nature,” he said.

One of the vendors in the expo, Jennifer Jordan, co-owner of Bakersfield’s Greenshops, discussed her thoughts on the GAC and why her company is part of the event.

“It’s the awareness of the green movement, and really, the educational component that really needs to get out to Bakersfield,” she said, and added, “It’s really important to create this awareness to clean up the debris because it has to go somewhere and it usually ends up in our oceans.”

Jordan also commended Bakersfield citizens for taking an eco-friendly attitude in their efforts to clean up Bakersfield.

“It basically speaks volumes that we have so many people that want to engage in [volunteer work] in Bakersfield.”

Volunteers from the event came from large and small organizations like Albertsons and Coca-Cola, who donated food and beverages to the event, to smaller organizations like church groups and school clubs.

Jeff Holland, 16, a high school junior from Golden Valley High School, had been cleaning up garbage around Yokuts Park most of the morning and was “surprised at the amount of garbage in the park.”

“I always thought this was a clean park,” he said and added, “It feels kind of cool to clean up all the trash out here.”

Stephanie Catuiza, 16, a sophomore at Ridgeview High School, was also helping to clean up the garbage around the park.

“I had a really good time today cleaning up. We saw some really weird things and we found a whole bunch of wire casing and we had to work to together to put it on the side of the road so the garbage people can get it,” said Catuiza who also brought along her 8-year-old brother, Ryan, to help out.

Holland and Catuiza are both part of a student organization called People to People. The club, which will be going on a European trip this summer, does volunteer work in the community as part of their club’s requirements.

Another volunteer Kim Snider, who was volunteering with the Coca-Cola group, commented on her experiences with the other volunteers and what she feels this event does for the city.

“I think it’s great for the community and to see everyone come together and help out. It builds morale and shows that Bakersfield really cares about its city,” said Snider.

Bakersfield College student and city employee Susan Hernandez was also volunteering in the events information booth. She had been a volunteer before and was hopeful for the events cause to reach the people of Bakersfield.

“I think it’s an outstanding opportunity for people to be educated and to participate in the community,” said Hernandez.