Take a hike, save the planet: Great Earth Walk seeks vols

Celebrate National Public Lands Day on Saturday, Sept. 24, by becoming a hiker for the environment at the 2nd Annual Great Earth Walk.

Sponsored by Earth Resource Foundation in conjunction with the Sierra Club and several other environmental groups, the Great Earth Walk will feature walk sites in Los Angeles and Orange counties. National Public Lands Day celebrates the beauty of our most cherished wild places by encouraging people to go out and explore our wondrous surroundings while pitching in to make our environment a little better. This year, the Great Earth Walk will support National Public Lands by encouraging Southland residents to explore their backyards and raise money for future public lands.

The goal of the event is to raise awareness among community members of the need to protect our natural treasures. Additionally, the Great Earth Walk seeks to raise desperately needed funds for our local environmental organizations. Without these organizations we would not have our most beloved wild places, such as the Laguna Canyon Wilderness, Crystal Cove State Park, and the Chino Hills State Park.

The event works like many other walks designed to raise money for a particular cause. Participants register, seek sponsorship from their friends, family, and co-workers, and then walk. The big difference between the Great Earth Walk and any other hike is the participant can pick the location of his or her walk and pick the organization she or he wants to benefit. Sierra Club members, for instance can pick the Sierra Club as the organization they want to benefit, and then pick any site that they want to hike.

Environmental groups include the Sierra Club, Earth Resource Foundation, Orange County Interfaith Coalition for the Environment, Hills for Everyone, Ocean Defenders, Center for Biological Diversity, Bolsa Chica Land Trust, and Journey to the Heart.

Walk sites include the Bolsa Chica Wetlands, the San Juan Loop of the Cleveland National Forest, Banning Ranch, Griffith Park, Arroyo Pescadero in Whittier, Powder Canyon in La Habra Heights, Rim Crest in Yorba Linda, Coal Canyon in Anaheim Hills, Aliso Canyon in Chino Hills State Park, and Crystal Cove, with more sites to come. If you want to dive instead of hike, join Ocean Defenders in Redondo Beach as they clean up the litter on the ocean floor.

Take a hike for the Sierra Club and enjoy the beauty of Southern California while working to preserve it. To register or for more information visit www.greatearthwalk2005.org, or email volunteer-at-earthresource.org.