As part of a bigger movement to revamp West Long Beach’s Santa Fe corridor, a small group of gardeners is updating land outside of the post office with mulch, and they’re looking for volunteers to help finish the job this Wednesday morning.

From 8 to 11 a.m. on Nov. 10, volunteers will be asked to clean trash, pull weeds and spread 3 inches of mulch outside of the bustling United States Post Office Cabrillo Station at 1690 W. 23rd St., according to Lee White, 61, a local gardener mobilizing volunteer work of the mulch project.

Anyone interested in helping with this project can just show up at the site on Wednesday morning. Gloves and gardening tools will be provided. White encourages volunteers to bring flat shovels and wheelbarrows to transport the mulch across the land.

Jeff Rowe, a local gardener and consultant for Project Business Lift, an organization funded by the Long Beach Economic Partnership trying to improve Santa Fe Avenue between Pacific Coast Highway and Willow Street, said that the city’s office of sustainability arranged to have West Coast Arborist transport mulch from Willow Springs Park to the post office. Three piles of mulch were first delivered on Oct. 23, and volunteers have been working for several days.

Pictured above is the United States Post Office Cabrillo Station before mulch was introduced to the soil in October 2021. Photo courtesy of Lee White.

Mulch helps retain moisture by suppressing weeds that sap soil of water and nutrients, and it helps release nitrogen back into the dirt, which improves soil fertility. Since the mulch comes from tree trimming of city trees, this project isn’t costing a thing, Rowe said.

“It was just weeds and trash, and if you leave that, then what that tells the neighborhood is: this is all you get, that you’re not deserving of more,” Rowe said. “And that’s the reason we’re doing all the other projects because they are deserving of more.”

A local organization, Long Beach Conservation Corps, also planted trees in the nearby sidewalk cutouts along Santa Fe Avenue, which will be watered once a week, Rowe said.

White said that after serving as a volunteer at Cabrillo High School and as a parent, she considers how a project like this, which is near the high school, can give a more positive mindset to youth when areas are clean and beautiful.

“You want your child to feel good about their walk to school, and that can help make their day better.”

This work will, Rowe hopes, also encourage others not to tolerate dirty streets. Streets should be cleaned and vacant lots should at least be mulched, he said.

“Santa Fe and other streets in the city that have been neglected should look as nice as everyplace else,” he said.

Advocates hoping to spur business, beautify West Long Beach