Jordan High School students, local residents and partnering organizations joined Los Angeles County Supervisor Don Knabe today in Long Beach to plant various native trees and shrubs in celebration of the 10th Annual Los Angeles River Master Plan Earth Day Event.

The Earth Day event also included a ribbon cutting ceremony to dedicate a decorative gate designed by local river artist Michael Amescua. The installation of the decorative gate was sponsored by Supervisor Knabe and the Port of Long Beach.

This year’s Earth Day was part of a larger Public Works comprehensive project called the Wrigley Greenbelt Project. The Wrigley Greenbelt area is a stretch of County owned land between Willow Street and Wardlow Avenue along Deforest Avenue. The goal of this project includes landscape enhancements to help improve the urban air quality and increase health benefits to the neighboring communities.

This project will also add educational elements such as native habitat gardens and interpretive signage to promote public information and awareness about the watershed and the surrounding environment.

In addition, the proposed water quality enhancements include water retention features to collect, filter and percolate storm flows from the adjacent residential areas.