Contact the Environmental Justice Campaign: aydee@alianzacv.org
Media contact: Nilda Ruiz, nilda@alianzacv.org
It’s not often that community members can participate in restoration efforts of the Salton Sea so when an opportunity presented itself, over 50 community members of the Coachella Valley showed up to help create a healthier Salton Sea.
This past Saturday, in partnership with the Desert Recreation District, Alianza’s Youth Caretakers took to the Salton Sea near the North Shore Beach and Yacht Club as they held an event to clean up along the shoreline.
The Youth Caretakers are the youth cohort of Alianza’s Environmental Justice Campaign. These strong advocates and leaders represent the community, the environment, and spread awareness around the Salton Sea.
When the Youth Caretakers first got together to plan and organize an event around the Salton Sea, they knew they wanted it to be something that the community could be a part of and enjoy.
“Planning this event was an amazing opportunity to put ourselves out there and do something nice for the environment,” said Youth Caretaker Melanni Robles. “It helped us get out of our comfort zone and gave us the opportunity to meet amazing people that have experience with this.”
For Eber Valdez, a Youth Caretaker organizer, the campaign and the event means bettering the environment for their future. “The thing I like the most about the campaign and being a Youth Caretaker is that our purpose is to help the environment get better.”
The initiative that the Youth Caretakers showed in organizing this event reminded our campaign leads of the leadership that the youth exhibit in their work advocating for a healthier Salton Sea.
“Being able to help plan this event alongside the Youth Caretakers was very rewarding because I was always reminded of why they wanted to do this. It was motivating to see how much they cared for the community,” said campaign organizer Juliana.
Thank you to the Desert Recreation District for partnering with us in hosting this event, and thank you to all that turned out! Be on the lookout to join in on the fun as the Alianza Youth Caretakers plan to make Salton Sea Clean-up events on a quarterly basis!
To learn more about environmental justice and the Salton Sea, visit www.alianzacv.org/saltonsea.
To learn more about the Alianza Community Justice Campaign, visit www.alianzacv.org/our-work/#ej. Alianza’s partners for the Environmental Justice Campaign include Coachella Valley Parents, Lideres Campesinas, Loma Linda University and Sierra Club.
