Coastal Cleanup Day Site Highlight: Volunteers Needed Here!

Can you believe it’s already September? In the ILACSD office, that means we’re in full swing for Coastal Cleanup Day! It seems unreal that it is less than two weeks away. As we amp up for this huge day of action for our environment, we wanted to take some time to show some love to our cleanup sites that are still in need of more volunteers! Volunteers are encouraged to register at a cleanup site in need today at CleanupDay.org!

Stop inland trash and debris from making it out to the beach this Coastal Cleanup Day!

While the beach locations are a big hit for Coastal Cleanup Day, it is still vitally important to spread out our efforts throughout the county. San Diego County has 11 different watersheds that carry debris out to the coast and ocean. This year, we want to encourage volunteers to explore a newer area also! Stop debris from even reaching the beach where it is more likely to end up in the ocean and affect the wildlife.

With over 100 cleanup and beautification sites throughout San Diego County, Coastal Cleanup Day offers this unique opportunity to explore new areas in your own town! Volunteers can find a new area for hiking or a neighborhood park they never knew about before. Check out some of the sites listed below to find a new site you’d be interested in volunteering at on Coastal Cleanup Day. Who knows, maybe you’ll find your new favorite hidden gem in San Diego!

Click any of the sites listed below to take you directly to the registration page for that location. If you have any questions about these sites or Coastal Cleanup Day in general, feel free to reach out to our Community Programs Coordinator, Michelle Freeman.

 

Central San Diego:

Alpine Creek before volunteers cleaned it up last year on Coastal Cleanup Day.

Mission Hills Neighborhood Cleanup

Chollas Creek – Chollas Pkwy at Boyce

Emerald Hills – Emerald Hills Park

Volunteers in the swing of it on last year’s Coastal Cleanup Day at Cooper Canyon!

East County:

Lemon Grove Park

Lemon Grove – Chollas Creek

Encanto Park

Alpine Creek

Last year, Howard Lane Park got an upgrade with new paint! Keep the park in tip top shape at Coastal Cleanup Day this year!

South County:

Chula Vista – Sweetwater River

Otay Valley Regional Park – Saturn Staging Area

Tijuana River Valley – Smuggler’s Gulch

San Ysidro – Howard Lane Park

Otay Mesa – Dennery Canyon

Give Smuggler’s Gulch some much-needed love this Coastal Cleanup Day!

Tijuana River Valley Cleanup

Did you know that the Tijuana River Valley is home to two dozen sensitive species and 340 bird species? With 1,800 acres of diverse habitat, it is a special sight to see! Help us remove trash and harmful waste from this unique and sensitive habitat and prevent trash from reaching the ocean shores!

Join ILACSD and WiLDCOAST on Saturday, September 30th from 9:00 AM – 12:0 0 PM for our Tijuana River Valley Cleanup!

Last year we removed over 6,000 pounds of trash and recyclables from the river valley! Come with us this year for this truly rewarding experience! Help us practice and promote zero-waste practices by bringing your own reusable supplies like buckets, gloves, and water bottles, though we will have extras on hand too!

All volunteers are required to sign a waiver, of which volunteers under the age of 18 will need an additional parent/guardian signature.

Volunteers will meet at Dairy Mart Road Bridge near 2411 Dairy Mart Road, San Diego, CA 92154.

We hope to see you there!

For a map and directions, click HERE.
For the waiver, click HERE.
Register today!

Beautify Chula Vista Day

I Love A Clean San Diego and the City of Chula Vista are excited for this year’s Beautify Chula Vista Day! Join us on Saturday, October 21st from 8:30 AM – 12:00 PM and help us celebrate Beautify Chula Vista Day’s 15th year by giving back to the Chula Vista community with a cleanup and several projects! This event as a whole has made an extensive impact on the City of Chula Vista and will continue on its path to make a difference for the years to come! It is truly amazing the results that can come from one morning with hundreds of enthusiastic volunteers!

This year, volunteers can meet us at one of the following two locations: Rice Canyon at Discovery Park (700 Buena Vista Way, Chula Vista, CA 91910) or Otay Rec Center (3554 Main St, Chula Vista, CA 91911)! Volunteers will pick up trash, remove graffiti, and complete other projects that make Chula Vista shine. More information about the event can be found at www.BeautifyChulaVista.org.

Waiver forms are available online or at the cleanup site. All volunteers are required to fill out a waiver form to participate, and anyone under the age of 18 needs a parent or guardian signature. Signed forms will be made available to volunteers who need verification of service hours. We will have all supplies needed at the cleanup site, but we encourage volunteers to bring their own reusable items (water bottles, work gloves, and buckets) if they have them to promote zero waste practices!

For the waiver, click HERE.
Register today!

Coastal Cleanup Day Site Highlight: Paradise Creek

This year’s Coastal Cleanup Day is set for Saturday, September 16th from 9:00 AM – 12:00 PM. One local wetland has benefitted from the work of a dedicated group of volunteers for the last 25 years, and it is once again set to be a site for the annual volunteer effort.

Paradise Creek Educational Park is a public park in the Old Town neighborhood of National City that was designed to increase environmental stewardship and to provide a place of respite in the busy city. Paradise Creek has flowed out to San Diego Bay as part of the Sweetwater River watershed for thousands of years. In 1999, the non-profit organization, Paradise Creek Educational Park Inc., formed to carry out the mission of advocating for and preserving the salt marsh wetlands. Since that year, a group of community members, teachers, students, families, and others have been holding Creek Day cleanups on the last Saturday of every month. 

On this year’s Coastal Cleanup Day, the park will hold a small celebration of the recent completion of work carried out by the City of National City. Come out and take a walk through the new entry way of native plants at 1815 Hoover Avenue in National City. Also, there is a new schoolyard garden that can be visited. Check out the Paradise Creek Facebook page for more information. 

There is still time to register to volunteer at the Paradise Creek site on Coastal Cleanup Day. Head over to CleanupDay.org to sign up at Paradise Creek or one of the other 100+ cleanup sites in San Diego County for Coastal Cleanup Day and be a part of this international day of action!

Sweetwater Sweep

End your summer on a good note and join ILACSD and the San Diego County Parks and Recreation for a cleanup at Sweetwater Regional Park on Saturday, September 2nd from 9:00 AM – 12:00 PM!

Join us in our efforts to keep our watersheds clean this year and prevent trash and debris from traveling through our watersheds and reaching the ocean! Volunteers will meet at 3260 Conduit Road, Bonita, CA 91902.

Practice with us a zero waste lifestyle by bringing your own reusable items such as a bucket, work gloves, and reusable water bottle!

All volunteers must sign a waiver form in order to participate. Any volunteer under the age of 18 needs a parent or guardian signature as well.

For a map and directions, click HERE.
For the waiver, click HERE.
Register today!

Leave Only Leaves – Lakeside Community Cleanup

Did you know that there are 11 different watersheds in San Diego? Join ILACSD and the Lakeside River Park Conservancy to clean up the San Diego watershed so that only leaves are left behind!

The event is on Saturday, September 9th from 9:00 AM – 12:00 PM at 12108 Industry Rd, Lakeside, CA 92040.

Have you thought about zero waste practices, but don’t know where to start? Bring your own reusable items such as water bottles, work gloves, or a bucket and help us reduce the amount of trash we create during this cleanup! Spread the word and invite your friends and family to join us!

All volunteers are required to fill out a waiver form, of which any participants under the age of 18 will need a parent/guardian signature.

We hope to see you there!

For Map and Directions, click HERE.
For the waiver, click HERE.
Register today!

Clean Canyons for a Clean Coast

Did you know that 80% of coastal debris stems from inland sources? Explore and protect San Diego’s canyons and waterways at I Love A Clean San Diego’s Clean Canyons for a Clean Coast Cleanup at Adobe Falls! Hosted in partnership with the California Coastal Commission’s Adopt-A-Beach Program, this cleanup will help remove litter and debris from entering our oceans by collecting it at an inland location. With your help, we can eliminate trash and waste before they pollute our ocean and help protect and preserve Adobe Falls’ natural state!

Please note, this event is not suitable for children. ILACSD suggests volunteers for this event are 15 years old and up. The cleanup location is in a riverbed surrounded by dense trees and shrubbery, is accessed by a steep hill, and does not have established paths. Come prepared to get your hands dirty and explore a hidden treasure!

Volunteers will meet at the gate on 5767 Adobe Falls Road, San Diego, CA 92120.

We will have cleanup supplies, snacks, and water. We also provide community service hours and Letters of Appreciation for volunteers. This is a great opportunity for students and families to learn ways to protect our local environment!

We encourage volunteers to bring their own reusable items such as water bottles, work gloves, and buckets to promote zero waste practices. This helps us in our mission to have a zero waste, litter free and environmentally engaged San Diego region!

All volunteers are required to fill out a waiver form to participate. Anyone under the age of 18 needs a waiver signed by their parent or guardian.

See you there!

For a map and directions, click HERE.
For the waiver, click HERE.
Register here! 

Registration Open for 33rd Annual Coastal Cleanup Day

Get registered today at www.CleanupDay.org!

Registration officially is open for San Diego County’s Coastal Cleanup Day! While the name Coastal Cleanup Day suggests that this cleanup is all about the beach, many of you already know ILACSD’s volunteer efforts reach far beyond the coast. With eighty percent of marine debris originating in inland areas, at ILACSD we have expanded our Coastal Cleanup Day reach to include both inland and coastal territory. This year, sixty-five percent of the cleanup sites are located inland along rivers, creeks, canyons, and urban areas with the aim to stop debris before it makes its way to the ocean. We even have 3 clean ups happening on the water with kayaks! With 114 cleanup sites last year, volunteers removed 185,000 pounds of debris from San Diego County – the equivalent weight of 10 garbage trucks! Help us remove even more trash and debris and beautify our county by getting registered for this year’s Coastal Cleanup Day on September 16, 2017, from 9:00 AM – 12:00 PM! Get registered now at www.CleanupDay.org!

Cut back on waste by bringing your own reusable buckets, work gloves, and water bottle if you have them!

In an effort to reduce waste produced by an event of this size, Coastal Cleanup Day volunteers can pledge to bring at least one reusable item to the cleanup. When volunteers bring their own reusable water bottle, work gloves, and bucket to collect litter, they prevent thousands of single-use bags and disposable gloves from entering San Diego’s landfills. When you register, please consider pledging to bring one of these items with you (or all three)! Once again, we will be having our “Bling Your Bucket” competition for Coastal Cleanup Day. Participants have the opportunity to decorate their reusable buckets showing off their creativity and imagination and submit photos for the chance to win fun prizes and have their picture posted on the Coastal Cleanup Day website for one year! Volunteers of all ages are also encouraged to participate!

Participate in the Sony Photo Contest for the chance to win a Point & Shoot Camera!

The Sony Photo Contest is also returning to Coastal Cleanup Day! While you spend the morning helping to preserve our environment, snap some pictures of all of your hard work! After attending Coastal Cleanup Day, participants can submit their best photo from the event into the competition where the top five finalists will be put to a vote on the ILACSD Facebook page. The winner will receive a Sony Point and Shoot Camera!

We also collect valuable data about the debris collection that helps us understand how we can better prevent litter. Instead of using paper data cards, ILACSD is asking volunteers to download the Ocean Conservancy’s user-friendly mobile data collection app, Clean Swell, onto their smartphones as another way to cut back on waste.

Bring the whole family and join us for Coastal Cleanup Day on September 16th!

Not only will we be removing litter on Coastal Cleanup Day, the event also includes beautification projects such as graffiti removal and replacement of invasive species with drought-tolerant alternatives. Volunteers who signup will work with ILACSD to preserve and enhance San Diego for current and future generations to enjoy. Leading the way to a zero waste, litter-free, and environmentally engaged San Diego region, ILACSD encourages all community members to take action in their neighborhood by joining us on September 16th. Registration information and details regarding Coastal Cleanup Day can be found at www.CleanupDay.org.

Record Breaking Creek to Bay Results

c2b16 mountain view park (247)Today’s blog comes from our Community Program Manager, Moriah who is eager to share this year’s Creek to Bay Cleanup totals!

I am thrilled to announce that the 14th Annual Creek to Bay Cleanup was an overwhelming success! This year, we focused on increasing communities to volunteer together in their own nearby parks, open spaces, canyons, creeks and beaches.  In total, our volunteers cleaned up a record 110 sites all over the county!

Totals from around the County are still coming in, but we can confidently report that this year’s event was record breaking all around! More than 6,400 volunteers channeled their appreciation of San Diego’s environment into action and removed more than 170,000 pounds of trash and debris from our county!

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What is even more impressive is that considering how many sites we had, we actually collected less trash than usual.  That means that we are all making improvements in our daily lives to reduce the amount of waste that we create and dump into our environment! On top of this, volunteers also beautified and restored the local environment through removing invasive plants, planting trees and native plants, stenciling storm drains, and performing a variety of park maintenance projects.Before and After - Postage Stamp Pt.

Our staff helped out at our media site, Mountain View Community Park.  While across the County we were expecting rain, the sun came through for a beautiful day.  More than 200 volunteers ranging from community members to corporate teams came out to beautify the park.  We painted bleachers and buildings, planted day lilies, stenciled storm drains on neighborhood streets, and removed more than 4,000 pounds of debris from the park and surrounding community.  It is so inspiring to see members of the community heartened after connecting with the beauty of their local environment.Fox Canyon

At almost every cleanup event cigarette butts and plastic items are our most commonly found items.  This year was no different, but there were quite a few found items that took our site captains and our staff by surprise.  Our North Swan Canyon site in City Heights found 13 rolls of piano music from the 19th Century, quite a few sites reported finding small toy dinosaurs, and New Roots Community Farm found a litter of kittens from a cat that lives at the garden! We are happy to say that the kittens are safe and sound and one of them even went home with Leila, our Recycling Program Assistant!

Tonks1
Meet Tonks aka Lil Sprout!

Thank you again to all of our site captains, volunteers, event sponsors and partners for all of your support! Stay tuned for our final totals, and save the date for our next countywide cleanup, Coastal Cleanup Day, happening Saturday, September 17th, 2015! More information can be found at www.CleanupDay.org!

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Thank you from the ILACSD team!