Cleaning up the creek bank

Melanie Burquez, of Sonoma, holds a bag so her 4-year-old son, Marley, can deposit a piece of trash he found along Nathanson Creek during last week’s Coastal Cleanup Day.

The pair were among some 69 volunteers who cleaned up creeks at five sites in Sonoma Valley. According to the Sonoma Ecology Center, the volunteers removed 564 pounds of trash and another 234 pounds of recycled items in the three-hour cleanup.