In one afternoon, more than 100 volunteers at last Friday's Backyard Collective in Ventura removed nearly 4 tons of trash from Ventura River and beach — resulting in a dumpster full of waste that would have otherwise polluted the waters of hte Ventura River and the Pacific Ocean.
From Santa Barbara's KEYT Television:
You may notice the mouth of the Ventura River near the Ocean looking cleaner than usual. That's because 
local companies; Patagonia, Deckers outdoor and Horny Toad gave their workers Friday afternoon off in return for cleaning up the river bottom.
The trio joined forces with the Santa Barbara Channel Keepers and the Conservation Alliance and the City of Ventura to clean up the Ventura Lagoon from the beach to the Main Street bridge.
"Conservation Next" funded the event named the "Santa Barbara Ventura Backyard Cooperative". Their goal is to bring corporations and volunteers together at a grass roots level.
Check out the KEYT TV video for more from the event!
"On behalf of the community of residents, tourists, surfers and beach goers the City of Ventura staff would like to extend our thanks to the participants, the company contacts who organized their staff… To have CEO's from these three companies on-site getting dirty sends a terrific message we hope, and our staff stands ready for future collaborative efforts," said Peter Brown, the Community Services Manager at the City of Ventura.
More Backyard Collectives coming to your neck of the woods this spring and summer. Keep up the great work!