Fifth District Supervisor John C. Zaragoza
More than 100 volunteers participated April 21 in an event to clean up and beautify McGrath State Beach Park, the office of Ventura County Fifth District Supervisor John Zaragoza reported recently in a media release. Projects completed included painting the park’s entrance kiosk and a large trellis structure and beautifying the entrance area with native plants, shrubs and trees.
McGrath State Beach Park was originally on a list of about 70 State Parks sites scheduled to close in July of last year. Zaragoza and State Parks officials joined with Supervisor Steve Bennett, Assembly member Das Williams, Oxnard City Council member Bryan MacDonald, other Oxnard officials and business owner Peter Mullin to secure funding for a much-needed sewer repair project. With these funds in hand, State Parks officials agreed to keep McGrath State Beach open. The park is currently closed to complete the sewer system project, and is expected to open in July 2012.
Local employees of Southern California Gas Company (SoCalGas) and their friends and family members participated in the event as part of an annual SoCalGas program encouraging employee to volunteer for community improvement projects.
“Our employees were really impressed with the efforts of Supervisor Zaragoza to keep McGrath State Beach open,” stated SoCalGas representative Michele Pettes in the release. “We wanted to show our support for McGrath staying open, and we decided the best way to do this would be to with a beautification event.”
A group of about 20 young people from Oxnard City Corps also participated at the event. City Corps is the City of Oxnard’s community service learning youth organization that nurtures personal initiative, fosters leadership development, and teaches civic responsibility and active citizenship to its members. City Corps exposes youth ages 12-24 to experiential learning and hands-on training through a variety of projects and activities. Each City Corps project works as a vocational exploration and introduces young people to the world of work and personal responsibility.
“It was very gratifying to see so many volunteers at our event, working hard because we all love McGrath Park,” stated Melissa Baffa, executive director, in the release. We completed a lot of projects, which will help get our campground ready for the busy summer season.” Others participate in the event included the Oxnard- Port Hueneme Boys and Girls Club, local high school students and other local volunteers.
Volunteers who participated in the beautification event received a reusable (cloth) shopping bag and were entered into a drawing to win two free campsites during the McGrath Grand Reopening Celebration.
“McGrath State Beach is a critical part of our community,” Zaragoza said. “The park is an environmental treasure, and the camping areas provide a way for families to enjoy an inexpensive family vacation. I am proud that we were able to work together to keep McGrath open, and I am gratified that so many people came out to clean up and beautify the Park as a way to celebrate Earth Day. ”
“It was great to work with Supervisor Zaragoza, So Cal Gas, Oxnard City Corps and Friends of the Channel Coast State Parks on this beautification event,”said State Parks local Superintendent Eric Hjelstrom. “After this event, the Park looks great, and we are very excited about re-opening the Park this summer.”
For more information on this community event, please contact the Office of Supervisor John Zaragoza at (805) 654- 2613 or John.Zaragoza@ventura.org, or Michele Pettes of SoCalGas at (805) 805) 223- 3955. If you would like to volunteer to help clean up or beautify McGrath State Beach Park, or to donate funds to beautify and improve the Park, please contact Melissa Baffa of Friends of Channel Coast State Parks at (805) 626-0156.