[KHTS] – About 1,600 Santa Clarita Valley residents attended the 20th annual River Rally and Environmental Expo event at the Santa Clara Riverbed on Saturday.

Participants spent the morning cleaning up the riverbed just off Wiley Canyon Road near the Via Princessa Bridge in Newhall and browsing more than a dozen exhibitor booths at the expo.

“People join together to help clean a portion of the Santa Clara River, taking any trash or debris out of the river to try to keep it clean for the endangered species that use it as a habitat,” said Laura Jardine, a spokeswoman for the city’s environmental services group.

Nearly half of the Santa Clarita Valley’s water supply travels through the Santa Clara River, which is also home to 14 endangered bird species, six endangered plant species, 57 archeological sites and 12 historical landmarks, city officials said.

Jardine estimated that approximately 1,600 people participated in the cleanup and removed around 25,000 pounds of trash.

About 22 exhibitors were set up inside a shaded tent area above the riverbed, where attendees could get tips and information about recycling, air quality, pollution prevention, water quality and more.

“(The expo) is all things environmental and sustainability,” Jardine said. “Recycling, air quality, energy efficiency, water conservation… All of those types of things will help us to conserve and save money. That’s important to our community.”