Environmental enthusiasts will again link arms in a massive cleanup sweep during I Love a Clean San Diego’s (ILACSD) sixth annual Creek to Bay Cleanup on Saturday, April 26.
“This event is significant because it involves inland and coastal cleanup sites,” said ILACSD events and education assistant Natalie Roberts, “so that anyone anywhere in the county can get involved nearby pretty easily.”
The Creek to Bay Cleanup takes place from 9 a.m. to noon at 60 sites in five regions countywide. Local cleanup sites include Dog Beach in Ocean Beach and the Ocean Beach Pier’s Veterans Park
For site details and directions, visit www.creektobay.org/index.-php/cleanup-sites.
Dog Beach Dog Wash is sponsoring the Dog Beach cleanup site. Volunteers can bring their dogs to play while humans work, and the dog wash will provide toys and treats for the canines.
The cleanup at the Veterans Park site is being sponsored by Envirockers.
Although coastal sites may be more convenient or more attractive to volunteers, Roberts said inland areas that play a large role in ocean pollution need the most help.
“They need the most attention,” Roberts said. “Those [areas] get a lot of urban runoff through the canyons and the creek and they have less groups who go out throughout the year to clean [them] up.”
At last year’s event, 3,111 volunteers collected 202,367 pounds of trash and debris from 55 cleanup sites. Roberts said these numbers alone show the significance of the event.
“We had less volunteers but more trash, so it just showed that those hardworking volunteers did a lot last year,” Roberts said. “It was the dirtiest year yet.”
Roberts said ILACSD is hoping to have at least 4,000 volunteers at this year’s cleanup. The task for volunteers will be to remove litter from their respective cleanup sites.
The necessary supplies will be provided, including bags for recycling and trash, along with gloves. Volunteers will also be provided a commemorative event T-shirt and snacks at each site, according to organizers.
Prizes will be awarded at each location to the volunteer who picks up the most trash and the one who finds the most unusual item, organizers said. Odd finds from last year’s cleanup included a velvet tuxedo in North Park and antlers in National City.
Scouts who hope to add a merit badge can do so by participating in the cleanup. Those eligible must fill out a badge order form found on the event’s Web site and present it to a site captain to receive the distinction.
For more information, visit www.creektobay.org.