As the sun sets on another beautifully hot San Diego summer, thousands will come out of the shade, roll up their sleeves and pick up tons of trash during the 23rd annual California Coastal Cleanup Day Saturday, September 15, from 9 a.m. to noon.
The media kick off event at the Ocean Beach Pier will have music, free lunch and chances to win prizes.
Presented by the California Coastal Commission and Whole Foods Market, the countywide effort includes 63 locations throughout San Diego County from Fallbrook down to Tijuana.
The effort is part of a larger international effort hosted by the Ocean Conservancy, with participation from all 50 states and about 60 countries worldwide. It’s the largest volunteer event in the world, Danielle Miller, San Diego Coastkeeper’s coastal coordinator said.
Last year, a record breaking 5,850 volunteers from around San Diego County showed up at coastal and inland sites clean-up sites, about 1,000 more than the previous year, Miller said.
Because of their efforts, San Diego County found its inland and watershed areas free of 197,000 pounds of trash, she said.
She said she hopes more volunteers show up this year.
“The cleanup is a great way for a person to come out and spend a few hours cleaning up their local community and go home feeling like they’ve made a difference in the environment.” Miller said.
Along with volunteers from I Love a Clean San Diego and San Diego Coastkeeper, several community groups, local businesses and concerned persons will offer up their time and pitch in.
The Friends of Rose Creek will once again watch over their namesake where Rose Creek crosses the 5700 block of Santa Fe Street, Karin Zirk, volunteer with Friends of Rose Creek said. Sections of Rose Creek are neglected because different areas of Rose Creek fall under the jurisdictions of multiple city departments, she said.
“The problem is out of sight out of mind,” Zirk said.
As part of the Rose Creek Alliance, a conglomerate of community and environment groups dedicated to saving Rose Creek, Zirk said the precious, natural resource should be protected for all to use. For now, Zirk and the Friends of Rose Creek will have to do protect it themselves but they will be working with the city to bring the creek under one branch of government, she said.
State Assemblywoman Lori Saldaãa will also host her third annual clean up at Bonita Cove on Mission Bay, she said. Last year the group of 45 volunteers cleaned about three miles of shore. She said she always could use more volunteers.
Dog Beach will also needs a lot of volunteers because of its location. South of Mission Bay and the San Diego River mouth it lends itself to pollution and trash from runoff from inland, Jane Donely, co-owner of Dog Beach Dog Wash, 4933 Voltaire said.
“We want people to be aware of where [trash] ends up and that’s Dog Beach.” Donely said. “If they want to come help us that’s fine but they can also look in there own neighborhoods. Were all in this together.”
Donely has been working beach cleanups for 19 years and said in the last few years she has seen less trash along Dog Beach. She added, however that plastic is still a big problem because marine and bird life mistake it for food.
La Jolla Shores will also have a clean-up site at Hike, Bike, Kayak, 2246 Avenida de la Playa. The business will donate about 50 Kayaks, which have already been assigned, to volunteers who go out into the water and pick up floating debris, Manager Jordan Hay said. Like all clean ups on that day, the debris will be collected and tallied, and the results will be faxed to San Diego Coastkeeper for record keeping, he said.
“It’s to take care of our shores. We work in the environment so important for us to clean it as clean as we can,” Hay said.
The La Jolla Shores clean up will also have prizes in different events including strangest prize. At a recent clean up Hay said someone found an ATM machine in the water.
As volunteers arrive at the sites, participating groups will offer trash bags, protective gloves and some will offer tools to pick up debris, Miller said. For more information and a list of inland events visit www.cleanupday.org.