DEL MAR — Residents gathered at beaches and lagoons throughout San Diego County on Sept. 17 for California Coastal Cleanup Day, with large groups contributing to efforts in Del Mar, Solana Beach, Cardiff and Carlsbad.
This year marked the county’s 38th annual cleanup organized by I Love A Clean San Diego, as residents young and old headed out on Saturday morning with trash bags and trash pickers to beautify coastal areas at over 70 sites across San Diego County.
Cleanup sites in coastal North County included Powerhouse Park and Beach and San Dieguito Lagoon in Del Mar, Fletcher Cove and Cardiff State Beach in Solana Beach and Carlsbad’s North City Beach, Frazee Beach and Tamarack State Beach, among others.
The Powerhouse Park site in Del Mar drew a group of over 50 students and parents from St. Michael’s School of Poway as a way to complete community service. Attendees located and removed rubbish on the beach ranging in size from cigarette butts and gender reveal party paraphernalia to abandoned beach umbrellas.
“We’ve done this in the past and been in the Poway area with the Boy Scouts,” said parent Todd Clark. “We’re just out here trying to enjoy and to get our kids out from behind the technology, and it’s been great to build camaraderie with the people we didn’t know.”
Nehemiah Martinez, a leader of the city of Del Mar’s Clean Water Program and a Coastal Cleanup Day site captain at Powerhouse Park, said the annual event provides an excellent opportunity for residents to care for the local environment.
“I think it’s a good way to build a sense of community around it, and have folks in a concentrated effort, and it’s a good chance for the kids to get community participation. As clean and pristine as the beach normally is, it’s a good reminder that with the small pieces of trash, we’ve got a long way to go,” Martinez said.
Individual cleanup sites provide a tally of how many pounds of trash are collected to determine how much is gathered each year and help with policy efforts, according to I Love A Clean San Diego.
Coastal Cleanup Day efforts also took place at inland sites, including Elfin Forest and Dixon Lake in Escondido, Lake View Park in San Marcos, Lake Hodges in Rancho Bernardo and San Luis Rey River in Oceanside.
I Love A Clean San Diego also organizes monthly cleanup efforts throughout San Diego County. More information is available online at cleansd.org.
