By Christina Zubko
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These photos of the Ormond Island canal and the end of Perkins Road were taken today. Last fall, the Oxnard Police Department (OPD) did their part and removed the homeless from this area, so the trash in these photos can not be blamed on the homeless.
After the OPD removed the homeless, the city of Oxnard on Saturday January 11, 2020, hosted and paid for an intensive cleaning of this very area, and hundreds of volunteers from all over Ventura County gave up three hours of their time to help clean it up. Therefore, the trash in these photos was dumped between January 12 and today, and the blame falls squarely on Oxnard residents.
Is it just part of Oxnard’s culture to let the environment go and offer the same excuse time and time again about there not being enough money? Is it just part of Oxnard’s culture to ask volunteers to give up their free time on a Saturday to clean up then repay them with the likes of these photos?
Are there no leaders in Oxnard that care to step up and keep this area clean? No city officials who care about Oxnard’s image? Is there no city department to oversee the area to make sure that January’s cleanup effort was not done in vain?
Are there any residents or community groups that want to start a campaign to promote a culture that cares for the environment or act as watchdogs and call out individuals/agencies that dump and pollute around the Perkins Island and lagoon? Are there any environmental justice warriors who are ready to call out all those who treat South Oxnard like a toilet?
Or is just that Perkins Island is an area that is “out of sight and out of mind”? Is there some tacit belief that since this is the industrial part of Oxnard it really doesn’t matter if it gets trashed?
It is commonly known that trash begets trash and when left untouched it sends the message that no one cares. These photos are a disgrace to the “precious” Ormond Beach wetlands. What are our children learning about us? About the environment? What are our visitors thinking about us when they come to visit us for the first time and see the mess that we have created and tolerate?
These photos are a disgrace to the “precious” Ormond Beach wetlands and we need to change the culture of dumping and polluting in South Oxnard. Enough is enough.
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Photo Credits: Christina Zubko
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Christina Zubko is a volunteer journalist, an environmental advocate, and a founding member of Friends of Ormond Beach. She can be contacted at [email protected]. Follow Friends of Ormond Beach on Facebook and Instagram.
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Homeless were removed and went straight back. There is no control there. It’s still not safe. And the homeless still are to blame for most of that trash and whoever dumped if that’s what happened yes I’m against that there should be cameras.
Why not get some cameras and try to catch the Intruders in the act?
Maybe getting a license plate or two and prosecuting for dumping might keep others from continueing this horrid injustice to our County!?!