School cleanup is part of Desert Hot Springs’ beautification push

Students from one Desert Hot Springs elementary school opted out of staying home in their pajamas last Saturday morning, volunteering on campus by collecting trash instead. It's part of a new citywide effort.

A handful of children and their families gathered around 8 a.m. at Two Bunch Palms Elementary to get to work. They dispersed with gloves and trash bags to gather litter strewn across campus and its surrounding area. An entire dumpster was overflowing with stuffed garbage bags in around an hour.

Desert Hot Springs recently formed a Beautification Committee to help clean and repair its neighborhoods. In addition to selecting eligible homes and businesses to receive up to $10,000 in renovations, the committee also educates students on keeping their community tidy through presentations and cleanups at local schools.

Liz Hernandez, environmental coordinator at Desert Valley Disposal, gave the presentation on sorting trash and recycling the day before the cleanup.

“I know that our city needs some education with the proper sorting,” Hernandez said. “We want to keep our city clean, so we’re working on that so that our kids can bring that home as well.”

Denise Fenton, the principal at Two Bunch Palms, said the city provided the school with all the supplies they needed. There were 15 school staff members helping out as well, she added.

“I just really think it's important for (students) to see the value of keeping our community clean and sorting trash properly to save our environment,” she said. “So I think it's great that they got up early — that they’re not home watching cartoons or playing video games, that they’re out here helping our school.”

Melanie Perez, a first grader, was with her grandmother Nereyda Perez and younger siblings. Melanie said it felt good to help.

“I think it's very important they know everything, they stay clean … and have some fun,” Nereyda Perez said.

Kimberly Vera, a fourth grader, said she was tired at first but it got more fun volunteering when she saw her teachers.

“I wanted to come clean because I know how dirty the whole entire school is, so I just wanted to help out a little bit and go get some stuff to clean up the whole school,” Kimberly said.

Sign up for our free Desert Hot Springs newsletter here: Get top stories to your inbox once a week

Marines in school at the Twentynine Palms base also volunteered, throwing away heavier items dumped in the desert around the elementary school, like shopping carts and tires. Daniel Belew, an academics officer for the Marine Corps, organized having them at the cleanup. His wife, Cynthia Belew, is an early reading interventionist specialist at Two Bunch Palms Elementary School.

“Hopefully you get that good feeling of helping something out, and they get to drive out here and see a little bit more of the desert and maybe start seeing some of the beauty in it,” Belew said.

City officials at the elementary school included Mayor Scott Matas and Beautification Committee co-chairs Jackie Devereaux and James Nindel.

“We wanted to really focus on a school at least once a quarter, and Two Bunch Palms stepped up and said they would like to be the next school,” Matas said.

The Beautification Committee previously organized a cleanup at Painted Hills Middle School and Bella Vista Elementary School. Matas said the next one might be at Desert Springs Middle School.

Ani Gasparyan covers the western Coachella Valley cities of Desert Hot Springs and Cathedral City. Reach her at ani.gasparyan@desertsun.com.

This article originally appeared on Palm Springs Desert Sun: Desert Hot Springs beautification effort includes school cleanup