Celebrating Our 2025 Cleanup Volunteers: Spotlight on Nicholas Golowko
Reflecting on a year of community-powered cleanups and the people who made them possible
January 28, 2026 We are incredibly grateful to everyone who participated in the 2025 Creeks to Coast Cleanup Program. Your time, energy, and care for our waterways made a tangible difference this year, and we couldn’t do this work without you.
Together, 725 volunteers contributed more than 1,700 hours, removed 1,300+ pounds of waste, and collected 9,000+ Litterati data points to help strengthen our understanding of where pollution shows up and how we can better protect our waterways.
Cleanups may be just one small piece of the environmental fight, but they’re an important one—and we’re deeply grateful to everyone who helped do their part.
We also wanted to take a moment to spotlight one of those volunteers: Nick. Nick brings a deep love for the outdoors and a thoughtful approach to stewardship, turning care and concern for our waterways into meaningful action through volunteering.
1. Who/what inspired you to start volunteering?
Growing up I spent a lot of time outdoors and it’s important to me that everyone has access to open, natural spaces like I did. Over time, I’ve seen just how much pressure our waterways are under, and volunteering is a good way to turn that concern into something useful.
2. Where’s your favorite river, beach, or waterway you’ve worked on?
I love the LA River! I spend a lot of time running and bird watching along it, and while I haven’t worked on it yet with LA Waterkeeper, I’m really hoping to this upcoming volunteer season! (fingers crossed emoji)
3. What’s one small action people can take to protect LA’s rivers and beaches?
It’s easy to feel so busy that adding one more thing feels impossible. I try not to be too hard on myself and just focus on doing one small thing at a time. Small actions add up over time!
4. What do you like to do when you aren’t volunteering?
I really try to spend as much of my free time outside as possible. My partner and I love bird watching an d backpacking in the San Gabriel Mountains and Mojave Desert.
5. What’s one thing you appreciate about volunteering with this organization?
The work LA Waterkeeper does is so incredibly important it’s a pleasure to help in any way. I love how it connects science, community, and real on the ground impact in a way that makes contributing feel meaningful!
Volunteers have always been essential to LA Waterkeeper’s work; from going out during a rainstorm to sample runoff from industrial facilities to monitoring the ecological health of our Los Angeles River or the Marine Protected Areas in the Santa Monica Bay. Thanks to our volunteers, LA Waterkeeper can continue to fight for the health of the region’s waterways, and for sustainable, equitable, and climate-friendly water supplies.
Interested in joining our volunteer team? Check out our volunteer page and learn more on how you can volunteer and help LA Waterkeeper fight for clean water and sustainable water supplies!