BILL SPARKES/Acorn Newspapers Hunter McClure and his friend Jacob Strellner ran along the upper edge of the Arroyo Simi on a recent warm and windy afternoon.

"Mom, there's tadpoles out there! And baseball fields!" Hunter, 7, yelled to his mother, Kristina McClure.

Hunter may have been distracted for a moment, but he and his family- including his mother, father, Doug, and 9yearold sister, Emily- picked up plenty of trash while volunteering during the sixth annual Arroyo Cleanup Day last Saturday.

More than 300 volunteers cleaned up nearly four tons of trash and 160 pounds of recyclable materials from the Tapo Canyon Road portion of the Arroyo, a 10-mile flood control channel that runs through Simi Valley and Moorpark.

The junk included 27 shopping carts, a mattress with springs, two bicycle frames, several truck tires, a plastic pool and a highway sign.

The Simi Valley Neighborhood Council sponsored the event together with the city and Waste Management. The cleanup benefited from a $5,000 grant from Keep America Beautiful, the country's largest community improvement program.

BILL SPARKES/Acorn Newspapers FAMILY AFFAIR- At left, Doug, Emily, 7, and Kristina McClure lend helping hands during the Neighborhood Council's sixth annual Arroyo Cleanup held last Saturday. Above, Paul Lainfiesta, center, watches as his daughter Becky, 13 receives a certificate of appreciation from Sue Massey for her part in helping 300 volunteers remove trash and recyclables from the Arroyo. "It's huge every year and it keeps getting bigger and bigger," said Ben Gilbert, an executive board member for Neighborhood Council No. 3, who was in charge of organizing this year's event. "This is about community togetherness. Everybody works side by side keeping Simi Valley a beautiful place to live and work."

The city also organizes the annual Coastal Cleanup on the third Saturday of September, when volunteers take on a different part of the Arroyo.

Kevin Gieschen, environmental compliance program director for public works, started the Coastal Cleanup in 2000, the first event of its kind in Simi Valley. He was pleased with Saturday's results.

CART RESCUE- Volunteers hoist a grocery cart full of trash up to the bridge to be hauled away. More than 350 volunteers helped out during this year's Arroyo Cleanup, held Saturday alongside Tapo Canyon Road. BILL SPARKES/Acorn Newspapers "We're getting more volunteers and having to pick up less trash," Gieschen said, "and that's a great trend."

According to Janet Falat, chairwoman for Neighborhood Council No. 4, volunteers cleared out 11 tons of trash two years ago.

The McClures were busy sifting through trash, and had to look between the crags of rocks to find hidden bottles. Emily found plenty of Carl's, Jr. hamburger wrappers- while avoiding spider webs- with the help of her father, a Los Angeles County firefighter.

Hunter, a Cub Scout with the rank of Wolf in Troop 3698, cleaned up too, when his mind didn't wander.

"We are trying to teach them that if they live somewhere, don't leave trash behind," Kristina McClure said. "We want them to try to keep our Simi Valley beautiful."

Eric Lundstrom, a Simi Valley Unified School District board member who came with his wife and two children, marched through knee-deep water with three other adults to pull a shopping cart out of the Arroyo.

"It gives people awareness when it comes to taking care of the community," Lundstrom said. "It's about teaching kids the importance of not throwing their trash on the ground."

Austyn Frisk, 6; his brother Cody, 9; mother, Renee; and grandparents, Richard and Phyllis White found a dozen golf balls but couldn't get to two others lodged in deeper water.

Austyn's attention was captured by all sorts of discoveries.

"I saw a butterfly with half a wing," he said. "We found glass bottles and my grandfather found a radio and a pot and a grocery cart. I didn't see it, but (volunteers) said there's a snake in the bushes. They're looking for it now."

Arroyo Cleanup Day came on the heels of Moorpark's Clean the Arroyo on April 19, an event sponsored by Bagwell Construction Services, Inc., Waste Management and Trader Joe's.

About 25 people, including 15 Moorpark High School students, cleaned up a chunk of the Arroyo from Spring Road to Tierra Rejada Road, gathering four truckloads of trash.

"People feel that they can throw their trash everywhere," said Paula Collins, office manager for Bagwell Construction. "This group makes a mission to clean it up."

The Moorpark volunteers found several shopping carts and bicycles- and even clothing items, like shirts, hats and underwear.

"We didn't find any streakers though," joked David Bagwell, owner of Bagwell Construction.

Arroyo Cleanup Day wasn't all about gathering junk and recyclables. One little boy discovered truth in the saying "One man's trash is another man's treasure."

Austyn walked home with a soccer ball and a scooter abandoned in the Arroyo.