TUSTIN, CA, SEPTEMBER 21, 2015 – As part of the firm’s community and philanthropic efforts, 18 management, staff and family members of HMWC CPAs & Business Advisors (“HMWC”) volunteered on Saturday, September 19, 2015 to help clean-up the Upper Newport Bay Ecological Reserve as part of the statewide “California Coastal Cleanup Day.” The Newport Bay Conservancy estimates that at the annual event over 1,000 people venture out into the marsh from the land and the water to remove over 20,000 lbs. of trash and recyclables. HMWC was also one of the major sponsors of the annual clean-up day.
HMWC volunteers helped collect the trash and recyclables throughout the day. Coastal Cleanup Day is the only day of the year when volunteers are allowed to enter many sensitive areas of the Bay where trash washes in from surrounding cities, polluting the Bay’s waters, harming its wildlife and threatening public health. Upper Newport Ecological Reserve totals 752 acres. This coastal wetland, one of the largest in southern California , is renowned as one of the finest bird watching sites in North America. During winter migration up to 35,000 birds may be using the Bay at one time, including several rare or endangered species. Considered a “critical estuary” habitat, Upper Newport Bay is one of the most pristine remaining estuaries in Southern California.
According to the California Coastal Commission, every year, on the third Saturday in September, people join together at sites all over California to take part in the State’s largest volunteer event, California Coastal Cleanup Day. In 2014, nearly 67,000 volunteers removed more than 1,190,000 pounds of trash and recyclables from California’s beaches, lakes, and waterways (2015 amounts, when tallied, are expected to be similar). The event is part of the International Coastal Cleanup, organized by the Ocean Conservancy, which is the largest volunteer event on the planet.
About HMWC: For more than 45 years, HMWC CPAs & Business Advisors (www.hmwccpa.com) has specialized in serving the financial and tax needs of privately held businesses and their owners throughout Southern California. The firm is one of Orange County’s top 15 accounting firms, as ranked by the Orange County Business Journal, and the largest in Tustin. HMWC CPAs & Business Advisors has been recognized by the Orange County Business Journal’s “Best Places to Work” in Orange County for 2010-2012. The firm has also been named by the Tustin Chamber of Commerce as the “2012 Small Business of the Year.”
