Volunteer Opportunities
PASSION IN ACTION
I Love A Clean San Diego volunteers are a diverse group of San Diegons united by their passion for the environment, serving their community, and taking action. I Love A Clean San Diego welcomes individuals of all ages, abilities, and backgrounds to be an active member of our mission.
There are many ways to get involved. Whether you’re looking for a long term or short term opportunity we’d love to start your volunteer journey with us!
I Love A Clean San Diego offers a unique opportunity for volunteers looking to become “Pros.” As a Pro Volunteer you can help to lead and assist in cleanup events across San Diego County, or help with office administrative tasks.
I Love A Clean San Diego hosts weekly cleanup events across San Diego County along with many workshops, DIY stations, and Swap events. Join us at any of our upcoming hosted events, or lead your own cleanup through our Adopt A Beach and Independent Cleanup programs!
Our Countywide Site Captains are champion volunteers who host a site for either or both Creek to Bay and Coastal Cleanup Day. Site Captains lead cleanup sites across San Diego County in April and September and help to remove over 200,000 pounds of litter and debris, annually.
I Love A Clean San Diego aims to prevent cigarette litter by installing and monitoring buttcan’s across San Diego County. Every buttcan needs to be visited on a monthly basis to remove graffiti, maintain stickers and be emptied. Anyone 21 years or older is eligible to become a Buttcan Ambassador for your community! No experience needed, all training and supplies are provided.
Events
I Love A Clean San Diego Volunteer Principles
I Love A Clean San Diego strives to provide the following to every volunteer:
- Feels welcomed to participate regardless of life experiences, abilities, background, identities, appearance, or beliefs
- Is treated with respect and valued for their contributions of time and experience as an environmental steward
- Works with a welcoming group of staff and volunteers
- Feels connected to other I Love A Clean San Diego community members
- Receives the necessary instructions, guidance, and resources to participate safely
- Receives timely and useful communications, such as advanced notice of location, time, and expectations
- Kept safe from harm and overexertion, including any form of harassment
- Feels supported in making decisions to stop an activity rather than pushing themselves outside of their physical abilities in order to complete a task
- Feels part of a fun, safe and rewarding opportunity that benefits our watersheds, environment, and the community as a whole
FAQ
I Love A Clean San Diego offers many unique opportunities to volunteer, whether it’s joining an event, becoming a Pro Volunteer, leading your own cleanup event, becoming a Site Captain or Buttcan Ambassador. To get started simply navigate on the top of this page to a specific opportunity. For more information please reach out to volunteer@cleansd.org
To become a Buttcan Ambassador, all participants must be 21 or older. For any other volunteer opportunity, we welcome all ages! For participants/volunteers under the age of 18, a liability waiver form will be required to be signed by your parent or guardian.
At ILCASD, we can work with any time commitments you may have. Some people are after long-term volunteer opportunities while others are only available for an hour a year. We are happy to work with each individual to best fit their needs and find the best program for their time commitment. For further enquiries please reach out to volunteers@cleansd.org and let them know what you’re after!
Most opportunities do not require any experience, but we do have a volunteer orientation for those interested in acting as additional support at our cleanups! If you are interested, click here to learn more and register. You will then receive access to our training video to go over the process. After watching the orientation video, we’ll send you instructions for signing up as a cleanup support volunteer! You only need to sign up once for this training.
Yes! Not all volunteer programs are available for court-ordered hours, unfortunately. All I Love A Clean San Diego hosted cleanup events are eligible. To sign up for a court-ordered event, please visit Cleansd.org/events and look for any of out cleanup series. Along with cleanup events, our Pro Volunteer program also is eligible for individuals needing to fulfill court-ordered hours.
“I would like to share with you a terrific experience. Over several months, my family and I have been in contact with the [WasteFreeSD Hotline Operator]
to learn the best methods of disposing of household hazardous wastes...The [WasteFreeSD Hotline Operator] has been so thorough and helpful to us with this project. Their knowledge and ability to explain the process are superb and
I just wanted to share this with you.”
Julian Resident
2021
“It’s a great way to give back to the community...Like a lot of people, we’re concerned about climate change and doing what we can for the environment.”
Tanisha Denham
2022
"A good non-profit environmental organization that supports voluntary clean-ups throughout San Diego...The staff is friendly...I'll continue to support and coordinate voluntary clean-ups through them."
Gil Corpuz
2023