Guest Post: Tips to Conserve Water at Home

Today’s guest post comes from Amanda Tatum of The 1:1 Movement!

Greetings I Love A Clean San Diego Readers,

It’s The 1:1 Movement here. 1:1 is a nonprofit organization headquartered in San Diego and dedicated to raising awareness about conservation, sustainability, and how each of us can play a role in keeping San Diego America’s Finest City, much like I Love A Clean San Diego.

Water has been a particularly hot topic in recent San Diego news. While our City Council has been working diligently to pass legislation which will lessen our dependency on imported Colorado River water, we at 1:1 would like to highlight a few water conservation tips, ranging from simple to advanced, we can all do in our homes- starting today.

  • Turn off the water

First things first- consider turning off the water when you are not using it. An example which comes to mind is when you’re brushing your teeth. According to Water Sense, partner of the Environmental Protection Agency, you can conserve over 3,000 gallons of water per year by turning off the faucet while you polish those pearly whites.

  • Place a bucket in your shower to collect water

Another idea to utilize water and save some pennies on your water bill is to place a bucket in your shower. The water collected can be used to hydrate your lawn, plants, flowers, or edibles you have around your home.

The average San Diegan uses 88 gallons to 140 gallons of water a day- 30 gallons of which are devoted to showering. A bucket is a simple and cheap solution to catch water while you wait for the ideal showering temperature. There are specific showerheads and technologies you can purchase and install in your home, but for renters or those on a thrifting budget- consider a bucket.

If you use earth friendly soaps such as Dr. Bronner’s or Everyday Shea, feel free to creatively step around the bucket while you sud up. Be cautious as your shower can be a slippery place! Another perk of these earth friendly soaps is the assurance that the soapy water which is washed down the shower drain will have a less detrimental effect on local wildlife and ecosystems.

  • Convert your washing machine to a greywater system
Before laundry to landscape installation

For the more ambitious, we recommend converting your washing machine to a greywater system. A conventional washing machine uses about 40 gallons of water every load. Converting to a greywater system is a permit-free, legal method of greywater reuse. Those 40 gallons of water can be diverted from “going down the drain” to irrigate your landscape- be it fruit trees, a lawn, or garden. Think about that monetary reduction in your monthly water bill!

After laundry to landscape installation

In collaboration with the San Diego Sustainable Living Institute, The 1:1 Movement will be hosting a Laundry to Landscape Greywater course on Sunday, August 26 at 10am. Spots are limited so we encourage you to reserve a spot today to learn more about how you can wash your clothes and conscience clean at the same time!

As our local representatives are hard at work ensuring San Diego can be the safest, cleanest, and healthiest it can be, we as San Diegans can do our part to be part of the solution, too. To get involved with the San Diego community, check ILACSD and The 1:1 Movement websites for upcoming events in your city. If you have any questions or comments about The 1:1 Movement, please feel free to emailamanda@1to1movement.org.

Volunteers Make the World Go Round

Today’s post comes from Jemma De Leon, whose 16 months as ILACSD’s Community Events Coordinator left a lasting impression on our staff and the thousands of volunteers she came in contact with. We know that she is moving on to bigger things, but her dedication to the environment and her quirky sense of humor will be greatly missed by all of us here at ILACSD!

Jemma weighing trash at Cupid’s Cleanup

“ILACSD hosts many events throughout the year, for which their successes all greatly depend on the participation of volunteers.”  If that at all sounds familiar then you’re likely a recipient of one of my MANY letters of appreciation that I sent out over the course of my 16-month stint as Community Events Coordinator.

Now I’m one to sometimes be jaded (there’s a reason I’ve been compared to Daria by many a child of the 90s), somewhat balanced by an unhealthy appetite for a heavy workload and expediency.  But I have never lost appreciation for the thousands of volunteers that I have had the pleasure of working with through our ongoing programs and monthly events.  Even though ILACSD has a top-notch staff, our impact would be nothing without the throngs of volunteers (you guys!) that pull themselves out of bed early for our weekend events.  I was always touched by, not only the dedication to environment that volunteers exhibited, but the daily reminders that there are awesome people in the world with go-get-‘em attitudes, kindness, and dedication.

I remember my first official day as I transitioned from intern to in-office staff member.  It was a disposal event in National City, for which people started lining up as early as 6AM to drop off large trash items like building materials and old mattresses.  Sandwiched in the queue of overflowing pickup trucks was an older gentleman who opted to shuttle his items back and forth on a dolly from his nearby home, adamant that he wait his turn like everyone else. I was beyond ecstatic to later see a father-son team in line offer their truck, saving him several dolly trips to our dumpsters. More than a year later, this image still resonates with me.

The ‘tire crew’ at Tijuana River Cleanup

More recent was June’s Tijuana River Valley Cleanup.  The tire crew, which included far more than those pictured, was so enthusiastic, eagerly chasing me down to report the latest tire stash sighting that needed to be hauled in the ILACSD truck.  (If the opportunity ever presents itself, try lifting a sand-filled tractor tire into a truckbed. Then you will understand the definition and necessity of teamwork.) I was also humbled to learn that one of our regular volunteers had spent more than two hours on public transportation to attend our cleanup.  You know who you are, and I still think you’re amazing.

These are only a few of the standout moments that have punctuated my time at ILACSD. I describe them, in part, as a ruse to avoid talking about myself, but mainly a necessity since it has been the volunteers that have defined much of my growth over the past year and a half.  My next move will be to London, where I will marry my passions for urban design and environmental safekeeping by pursuing a master’s degree at the London School of Economics.  I only hope to meet some equally awesome people there as well.  I leave SD confident in the ILACSD team (the staff and interns alike) and excited/anxious to see what awaits me abroad!

August is Donation Drive Month at ILACSD!

Today’s post comes from ILACSD’s Director of Development and Marketing, Morgan Justice-Black!

Not long after I started working at I Love A Clean San Diego, we received a donation in the mail. Inside the envelope was $12 in cash and a note from a young girl named Madee. In the note, she wrote that she wanted to donate her babysitting money to keep San Diego’s beaches clean.

Our clean water mascot, Captain Wetiquette!

With more than 3 million residents, San Diego County is ranked as the 5th largest county in the United States. The sheer size of San Diego County makes it challenging for countywide organizations like ILACSD to reach every community. Each August, ILACSD staff and Board launch a Donation Drive to raise funds to expand programs and help fund some of the more random equipment purchases not typically covered by contracts or grants.

From a new set of walkie talkies for our staff to be able to communicate with each other at cleanups, to new tires for our work truck, we’ve got a few pressing needs that you can help make a reality! We’ve also got some big programmatic goals that include expanding our reach and providing education to new communities around San Diego County. (You can read more about our goals and programs in our Annual Report.)

Tell your friends and family that August is Donation Drive month at ILACSD! Encourage them to go onto our website, www.CleanSD.org, and make a donation, or give us a call at (619) 704-2781 and we can process your donation over the phone.

Even if you only have $12 to give, every gift makes a difference.

Meet Our New Board Members!

Over the last few months, I Love A Clean San Diego has welcomed two new Board members to our ranks.

This spring, Eric Johnson joined the Board, bringing with him some serious knowledge as the head of corporate sustainability for Sony Electronics. You may have seen him leading Sony volunteer teams at this year’s Creek to Bay Cleanup and Kids’ Ocean Day. He’s already made an impact on the organization by recruiting some of his colleagues to donate their time to create an interactive recycling game that can be played on our new Sony touchscreen computer. Stay tuned for information about the launch of this new game in the next few months!

The newest addition to ILACSD’s Board of Directors is Clint Carney, a public relations guru who has been acting as a volunteer site captain for Creek to Bay and Coastal Cleanup Day at his local beach, Windansea, for the past few years. We first met Clint in 2009 when we worked together to coordinate a “supermarket sweep” type of event to celebrate America Recycles Day at a local Walmart. Clint brings a wealth of experience in media relations, government relations, community outreach, and public policy to ILACSD. Aside from his volunteer commitments, he currently manages corporate communications, public affairs and business development duties for a San Diego telemedicine company.

These two join seven other enthusiastic board members who continue to be strong ambassadors for a clean San Diego. Learn more about Eric, Clint, and all of our other board members here.

From the Mountains to the Beach, Your Support is Keeping San Diego Clean!

Today’s post is from ILACSD’s Development and Marketing Coordinator, Jessica Green.

It’s hard to believe that 2012 is more than halfway over! In just the first 6 months of the year, the I Love A Clean San Diego team has already scoured the county, educating and cleaning up with one goal in mind: protecting our local environment.

Alex, ILACSD Educator, and students from James Duke Elementary in Ramona on a Nearby Nature field trip.

The ILACSD staff has been working hard to educate San Diegans all over the county about the importance of protecting our local environment. From Pacific Beach Elementary School where students learned about ocean conservation, to four schools in Lemon Grove who participated in our hands-on watershed education presentations, our Educators have given over 240 presentations to almost 21,000 San Diego residents already in 2011! How do we know it’s working? 73% of the high school students who received our education presentations showed an increase in knowledge afterwards. That means the next generation knows what to do to keep San Diego clean long into the future and more importantly, they want to do it.

Volunteers show off their haul at a cleanup event.

Our Educators aren’t the only ones taking environmental awareness on the road, our Community Events team continued to reach new communities through our signature event, the Creek to Bay Cleanup, and engage volunteers each month at smaller local cleanups in both inland and coastal areas. The result? 178,000 pounds of trash and debris that was sitting in local creeks, canyons, parks and on the beach, is now out of our environment. Which means our water is cleaner, and the areas you love to play in are safer for you, your family and all the amazing creatures that also call San Diego home.

It doesn’t matter if you live in Santee or Ocean Beach, Oceanside or Chula Vista, we are all connected by the environment and can all do things in our everyday lives to help protect the San Diego way of life we know and love. Whether you volunteer or donate (or both!), you’re helping us do great things to keep all of San Diego clean.

Check out our 2011 Annual Report to learn more about how our programs are reaching into communities across San Diego County.

What’s coming up next?

Intern Spotlight: Gabe Grinstein

Today’s post comes from our summer Community Events Intern, Gabe Grinstein. Gabe has been an amazingly dedicated and vital part of our team over the past few months. From helping at cleanup events to inventing new educational displays for our volunteers, Gabe has been resourceful and has always shown a positive attitude, regardless of the task. Everyone here at ILACSD would like to thank Gabe and we wish him the best of luck in school and during his upcoming research project!

Gabe helping tally trash collected at the Morning After Mess cleanup

I am finishing up my internship this week with I Love A Clean San Diego. I wish I could stay longer, but I am going to Wyoming to complete a field research requirement for my undergraduate concentration. My time here has flown by, keeping busy reaching deadlines to make sure we are ready for cleanups and other tasks such as inventing educational displays for site captains to make during Coastal Cleanup Day in September. I have had such a blast, thanks to the always-cheerful and welcoming attitude of the staff here. Every staff member has been fantastic, but I would like to give a special thank you to Jemma De Leon. As my supervisor, I worked with Jemma on a daily basis and she made my work here so much easier, whether it was calling a client when they wouldn’t take my previously agreed upon posters or helping me clean the storage room.

Gabe displaying the educational displays he created

I learned so much from this internship that I will surely take for my future in the environmental field. So many things go unnoticed in planning a cleanup or in any environmental initiative, but every step is important in making it successful. I am planning on conducting a research after I graduate which shows the effects of sports on the environment and ways to make it more sustainable. Even an area as beautiful as San Diego needs improvement, making it hard to imagine how much needs to be done in other cities across the United States and abroad. If everyone could portray just a small amount of the passion I saw working with the staff here and volunteers at events, it would surely turn around our environmental problems.

Although I won’t be able to participate in any ILACSD events anymore, I will still help the environment somewhere else. I hope all of you continue with it as well.

Gabriel Grinstein

LEAD San Diego: Learning That I’ve Got a Lot to Learn

Morgan (left) & Pauline at their LEAD graduation

Today’s post comes from our Director of Development and Marketing, Morgan Justice-Black! Morgan, along with our Executive Director Pauline Martinson, recently graduated from LEAD San Diego‘s Impact San Diego program. All of us at ILACSD are extremely proud of their accomplishments and excited for them to be recognized as great leaders even outside of our office.

Just over a year ago, I was invited to join San Diego Gas & Electric’s staff at the LEAD Visionary Awards. Although I had heard of LEAD, I wasn’t expecting much from the event, aside from a free dinner and an opportunity to connect with some of our partners at SDG&E. What I thought was going to be just another dinner ended up setting me up for an exciting year-long journey in leadership.

Representing my hometown San Diego Chargers as they were “Super Bowl Bound”

Through LEAD San Diego’s 10 month Impact San Diego program, I learned that I’ve got a lot to learn when it comes to San Diego. I consider myself to be a fairly educated person, my radio is permanently affixed on NPR, I spend almost as much time on VoiceofSanDiego.org as I do on Facebook (hey, I do marketing…I have to be on Facebook!). But, LEAD’s Impact program made me realize that I’m not as connected with local issues as I should be. There is really no excuse for this, considering that I grew up in San Diego and have spent the majority of my adult life here!

Throughout the program, I was also able to get a behind the scenes perspective on so many things that us locals take for granted.

On the deck of a navy ship at 32nd Street Naval Base during LEAD’s session on the Military

Did you know that…

  • 10% of all cars sold in the U.S. come through the National City port terminal?
  • Military doctors use the same high tech “cut suits” as Grey’s Anatomy to simulate emergency surgery before deploying from the Balboa Naval Hospital?
  • California has the highest crime recidivism rate in the entire US at over 70%?
  • 26% of all jobs in San Diego are related to the Military?

Besides learning about the many trades in San Diego, our economy, our education, military and high tech sectors, the program taught me a lot about leadership. It taught me that “STJ’s” are the most prevalent Myers Brigg types among managers and leaders. In case you were curious, from my assessment I was categorized as an ESTJ (that stands for extroverted thinking with senses). It also taught me that not everyone can be a leader, especially in a program full of them! Sometimes, you just have to be humble, step aside, and let someone else take charge.

Just after graduation, the LEAD Impact Class of 2012

Volunteers Kicked Butts at the Morning After Mess Cleanup

Today’s post comes from ILACSD’s Community Events Intern, Gabe Grinstein.

Volunteers up bright and early to cleanup up the Morning After Mess!

Already this morning, 227 volunteers came out and joined I Love A Clean San Diego by Belmont Park in Mission Beach for the Morning After Mess cleanup. After having the day off yesterday to celebrate Independence Day, there was no better way to start off the day than with a beach cleanup to recover all the mess from yesterday’s festivities. It was an early start for me, getting up at 7 so I could get to Belmont Park by 8 to start setting up. To be honest, I started quite slow since I was very tired, but I woke up once people started to come by and sign up. The mood was great around the volunteers as there were many eager people ready to participate, and we had 94/9 radio right next to us playing music and advertising our organization and event on the radio.

Volunteers combed the beaches picking up cigarette butts, plastic bags, bottles, and more.

Time always flies by during events since it becomes so busy. I didn’t clean up any trash, but I weighed the trash and recycling bags, and added tally-marks to the big board to show how many cigarette butts, plastic bags, styrofoam pieces, and other items that we collected. By the end, we had marked 8,260 cigarette butts! This is an astonishing number since one cigarette butt can contaminate up to one gallon of water, so thankfully we picked them up before they reached the water.

Gabe keeping track of trash as it came in.

Volunteers also picked up 80 plastic bags, 134 styrofoam pieces, 345 pounds of trash, and 130 pounds of recyclables. People began to leave after a couple of hours and we started wrapping up around 11:30. The end is always my favorite part of the cleanups because I get to see all of the smiles of people when they turn their bags in. I can always see a sense of accomplishment on the faces of the volunteers. It is a great feeling knowing that we bettered the environment we live in, even if it wasn’t our mess.

Enjoy the Scene, But Keep It Clean!

Last year’s CBC trash bin.

I Love A Clean San Diego and other local nonprofits are at it again, hoping to make this summer the cleanest on record at some of our most popular beach destinations. As hundreds of thousands of people look to descend on local beaches this summer, I Love A Clean San Diego, FreePB,org, and Surfrider Foundation are working hard to make sure the beaches don’t bear the brunt of what thousands of people leave behind…trash! As part of the Clean Beach Coalition, our organizations work together to remind our community to be aware of the amount of trash they make, and also place temporary trash and recycling bins at the most popular beaches during popular holidays like the 4th of July.

Even with the added trash and recycling bins, inevitably some trash still ends up on the sand. If you’re sick of your favorite beach getting trashed, you can do something about it by volunteering at the Morning After Mess, scheduled for Thursday, July 5th at 9am! ILACSD will be hosting our cleanup site at Belmont Park in Mission Beach. Contact Jemma De Leon at jdeleon@cleansd.org or 619-704-2778 if you are interest in participating or have any event questions.

Our thanks go out to the sponsors who helped make this year’s campaign a reality!

Think Blue – City of San Diego Stormwater & Transporation Department
Pacific Beach Shore Club
Lahaina’s
Keep California Beautiful
Car2go
Vavi
ClifBar
BarWest
Paradise Point Resort & Spa.

Visit CleanBeachCoalition.org to learn more!

Stopping Cigarette Litter, One Butt at a Time

Today’s post comes from ILACSD’s Director of Development and Marketing, Morgan Justice-Black!

A few years ago, I Love A Clean San Diego heard about a program being launched by our national affiliate, Keep America Beautiful. The Cigarette Litter Prevention Program, although in its infancy, seemed like a great addition to our program arsenal. Anyone who has participated in one of our cleanups knows that cigarette butts are far and away the most common item picked up. It’s a painstaking process, bending over and picking them up one by one. While removing cigarette litter is good, preventing it is even better. So that’s what we set out to do.

In collaboration with the San Diego Chapter of the Surfrider Foundation, we are implementing three new CLPP programs this summer. The areas targeted for ash can installation include: Oceanside, North Park, and La Mesa. Prior to placing the ash cans, our volunteers do litter scans to find the areas that have the most cigarette litter. Then, ash cans are installed, and the cigarette litter collection begins. Typically, after about a month, volunteers will do a post installation litter scan to see how many butts still make it onto the ground. One lucky volunteer has the dubious task of counting each cigarette butt in all the ash cans to see how many are collected during the first few months. In some cases, we’ve been able to collect upwards of 2,500 butts in a single month!

We are excited to expand this already successful program. The three new areas we are reaching join Mission Beach, Pacific Beach, La Jolla and Point Loma where ash cans were installed in previous years. We estimate these ashcans have prevented over 30,000 cigarette butts from littering our local environment each year.

Kevin, winner of our Creek to Bay Volunteers in Action Photo Contest, shows just a handful of the butts picked up at one cleanup location.