Make a difference -- Volunteer at a Thousand Oaks cleanup site. The Arroyo Conejo Creek is part of the Calleguas Creek watershed which includes the Arroyo Simi and the Arroyo Santa Rosa. The watershed is approximately 14 miles wide and 35 miles long in an area of about 350 square miles. The Arroyo Conejo Creek joins Calleguas Creek and reaches the Pacific Ocean at Mugu Lagoon. Mugu Lagoon is one of the largest estuaries in California and is home to several endangered animal and plant species. The water in the creek system consists of highly treated water from wastewater treatment plants, untreated urban and storm runoff, and seasonal natural flow. |
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Protect Our Watershed and Our Wildlife
The Arroyo Conejo Creek and Calleguas Creek drain into the Pacific Ocean at Mugu Lagoon. When it rains, water soaks into the ground or travels across land and streets where it can pick up soil and pollutants such as oil, trash, pesticides, and pet wastes. It is important to keep waste out of streets and stormdrains, which are untreated links to our waterways. Storm drains in Thousand Oaks are labeled "drains to creek - don't dump", signifying that these drains are untreated passages to our inland waterways which make their way to the ocean. Waterway pollution may be caused indirectly when trash ends up in the gutter, when leaky cars drip oil, or when lawns are over-watered and fertilizers and herbicides are washed into the street. |
Common Creek Inhabitants
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Crayfish (Astacidae) Pond Turtle Pacific Tree Frog Mosquito Fish Mallard Ducks Snowy Egret Green Heron
| Dragonfly Black Phoebe Belted Kingfisher Opossum Ground Squirrel Raccoon Western Toad
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Become Active! Be a Volunteer!
Turn the Tide on Trash |
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| Thousand Oaks/Newbury Park Cleanup Sites |
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- Volunteers of all ages are welcome!
- Cleanup locations in Thousand Oaks include:
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| Arroyo Conejo Creek | Meet at Borchard Community Park (north of the tennis courts) at the corner of Borchard Road and Reino Road in Newbury Park. |
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| 2008 Ventura County Coastal Cleanup Day Sites |
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| Beaches |
| Oil Piers | Exit Seacliff, proceed north one mile, go through pedestrian underpass; meet near stairs. |
| Rincon Parkway | Meet at Emma Wood State Beach entrance. |
| Emma Wood Group Camp | Main Street to camp entrance; meet at kiosk. |
| San Buenaventura State Beach | San Pedro Street entrance, meet by the snack shop. |
| Seaward Beach | End of Seaward Avenue. |
| Surfers' Knoll | Meet at Spinnaker Drive, Surfers' Knoll. |
| McGrath State Beach & Santa Clara Estuary | Meet in McGrath State Beach parking lot, past the kiosk. |
| Oxnard Shores | Meet at basketball court off Neptune Square -- off Mandalay Beach Road. |
| Hollywood Beach | Meet at south end. |
| Silver Strand Beach | Meet at north end. |
| Hueneme Beach | Meet south of the pier. |
| Ormond Beach | Meet at Reliant Energy plant by Hueneme and Edison Roads. |
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| Inland Waterways | |
| Santa Paula Canyon | Meet at St. Thomas Acquinas College, 1000 N. Ojai Road. |
| Moorpark | Meet at Arroyo Vista Recreation Center, 4550 Tierra Rejada Drive. |
| Thousand Oaks/Newbury Park | See above for Thousand Oaks locations. |
| Camarillo/Mission Oaks Park | Meet in the parking lot of park located on Mission Oaks Boulevard at Oak Canyon Road |
| Simi Valley | Please call (805) 583-6462 for location. |
| Ventura River/Foster Park | Exit Highway 22 at Casitas Vista. Meet at last parking lot near restroom (park under overpass before entrance). |
| For coastal and inland waterway cleanup events in your area, call 1-800-Cleanup. |
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If you can't join our group in Thousand Oaks on September 20, here's what you can do to help keep our waterways clean: |
- Drive a clean machine! Use a litter bag in your vehicle, and make sure trash doesn't blow out windows or from the back of a truck. Free colorful litter bags are available at the Public Works Department at City Hall.
- Use professional car washes to avoid harmful soaps and detergents from washing into stormdrains from your driveway, or wash your car on your lawn.
- Properly dispose of toxics such as used motor oil, antifreeze, oil filters, batteries, and lawn and pool chemicals. Visit the City's Household Hazardous Waste Program for information on how to conveniently dispose of household toxics free!
- Pick up pet waste promptly, especially in parks and open space areas. Keep pet waste, oil and trash out of streets, creeks, and stormdrains. Put pet waste in a bag and dispose of in the trash.
- Plastics are a special problem . . . though they are convenient and used for everything from eating utensils to automobiles, plastics never truly biodegrade, making plastic litter a major environmental problem. Sunlight breaks plastics into smaller and smaller pieces, all of which are still plastic polymers. Plastic litter in creeks and in the ocean are eaten by all sorts of animals, who cannot digest them and can die of poisoning or malnutrition. So....please be sure the plastics you use don't end up as litter, which can be washed into creeks and into the ocean.
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| Plastic Facts: Only 3.5 percent of plastics are recycled and we landfill 63 pounds of plastic packaging each year per person! Source: Pelagic Plastic Task Force, 2001 |
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| Links of Interest |
The City would like to thank the following local event sponsors: - Newbury Disposal
- G.I. Industries
- California American Water Company
- Noah's Bagels
If you have any questions or would like additional information, please contact the City of Thousand Oaks Public Works Department, at (805) 449-2400, or via e-mail at PublicWorks@toaks.org |
