With California’s COVID restrictions lifting and the weather heating up, there are a lot of reasons to head to the beach right now. And… if you’ve gone, you’ve seen a lot of people have gotten that memo.
Beaches are extremely crowded! And I get it! It’s HOT, and we skipped a whole summer last year. But. With crowds comes trash.
In a perfect world, everyone would take everything they brought to the beach, off the beach. But anyone whose been to OB on a Sunday morning knows that it just doesn’t happen.
Luckily, the good folks who organize beach cleanings recognized that and decided to really up their game this summer. There are several different beach cleaning organizations and groups that you can work with. There are small scale operations like Surfrider’s Strike Team to larger ones like Coast Keeper. You can even set up your own within your organization or just go out with a friend and pick up trash on your own using the Marine Debris app.
I recently participated in the Morning After – July 5th Beach Cleanup with Surfrider and Essence of Earth! They made it extremely easy to just show up, grab a bucket and one of those claw grabber things and go to town!
How to Volunteer
For the most part you just need to look up “San Diego beach cleanup” and find an organization you’d like to help! If you want to get more specific you can search for a location to see what events are happening near you. Different organizations tend to focus on 1-2 areas, for example Essence of Earth hosts clean ups at Ocean Beach every Monday, and clean ups in South Park nature areas every Thursday.
If you’re struggling to find one, check out the list below!
Essence of Earth (Ocean Beach, South Park, & Central Coast) - https://www.essenceof.earth/events
SD Coast Keeper Solo Cleanups - https://www.sdcoastkeeper.org/beach-cleanups
Surfrider Strike Teams - https://sandiego.surfrider.org/volunteer/
Surfrider Calendar - https://sandiego.surfrider.org/events/
I Love a Clean San Diego (Manzanita Canyon, Lakeside, & Ramona) - Link
Note About Volunteering Options
If you feel like you’re used to seeing dozens of organizations for clean ups… you’re not wrong! There normally are. A lot of organizations are still in the planning phases of coming back after quarantine. So, be sure to stay tuned and to keep checking these sites for more information!