Scouts Pitch In to Clean Up City Streets

Agoura Hills children have discovered that they can turn trash into cash.

More than 100 local Girl Scouts and Boy Scouts volunteered their time last weekend to pick up trash along city streets. For each bag of trash collected, sponsors paid $1, which went to benefit the troops.

It was part of a city program to get children involved in constructive activities, said Mike Gonzalez, recreation supervisor for Agoura Hills.

The Scouts will be honored in a ceremony at City Hall, he said, during which they will receive certificates of appreciation.

The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department participated in the effort, Gonzalez said, providing deputies in cruisers to guard the children against traffic. The county Public Works Department handed out water to volunteers, he said.

“It’s a small thing, but it was really appreciated by the participants,” Gonzalez said.

In the past, the city conducted the trash collection effort every other year. But buoyed by the success of the weekend program, officials plan to make it an annual event.