SAN DIEGO, Sept. 6, 2011 – On Saturday, September 17, around 10,000 volunteers will visit 90 coastal and inland cleanup sites for a one-day attack on marine debris and inland pollution. This year, Coastal Cleanup Day coordinators I Love A Clean San Diego and San Diego Coastkeeper highlight on their website several green “in need” cleanup sites, where data from the annual event show a higher demand for volunteers. To reduce the event’s carbon footprint and individual waste, organizers also ask volunteers to select local sites in their own communities and to bring reusable buckets, bags, work gloves and water bottles.
“Trash travels from inland communities into storm drains which empty into our canyons, creek beds and eventually the ocean,” said Pauline Martinson, Executive Director for I Love A Clean San Diego. “That’s why it’s especially important for volunteers to lend a hand in their local neighborhood—our entire county needs a cleaning.”
To encourage participation in areas that need extra hands, San Diego’s Coastal Cleanup Day website, www.cleanupday.org features “in need” sites labeled in green in areas such as Clairemont, Normal Heights, City Heights, La Mesa, Tijuana River Valley and more. These sites were identified based on data from previous cleanups, indicating that some inland sites recover more debris as well as larger items such as tires, couches, and more.
“A recent statewide survey shows that this event significantly increases knowledge about the causes of marine debris—and that’s the first step in stopping the problem,” said Alicia Glassco, Education and Marine Debris Manager at Coastkeeper. “We see Coastal Cleanup Day as a hands-on educational event that connects residents to their neighborhood while removing harmful debris.”
I Love A Clean San Diego and San Diego Coastkeeper also ask volunteers to reduce their carbon footprint while participating in the event. Instead of traveling long distance to a site, volunteers should stay at their local cleanup locations and remember to bring their own reusable bag or bucket, work gloves and water bottle.
Last year in San Diego County, volunteer involvement rose to approximately 9,000 participants, with another 3,000 volunteers lending their support across the border in the U.S./Mexico-shared Tijuana Watershed. Volunteers removed close to 100 tons of debris from more than 80 cleanup sites along the coastline and in canyons, creek beds, lagoons, estuaries and open spaces.
This year, volunteers should register on the San Diego County event website at www.cleanupday.org. The website includes an interactive Google Map with all cleanup sites in the region, including a handful of green “in need” sites. Sites where registration is at capacity are denoted in red. Information for children, scouts, and groups are also available on the website.
SAN DIEGO, Feb. 7, 2012 – On Feb. 27, San Diego Coastkeeper’s Signs of the Tide: How to Find Sustainable Seafood in San Diego brings together a panel of experts to show how to enjoy the fruits of the oceans in an environmentally responsible way. From 6 p.m. – 8 p.m., the attendees will learn from a chef, a fishmonger and a fisherman everything one needs to know about sustainable seafood in San Diego and more importantly, how and where to find it.
Bill Riedy, who serves on the Leadership Development Committee of the Slow Food Urban San Diego chapter, will moderate a panel of speakers including:
- Pete Halmay, a fisherman, who will focus on what it means to be a fisherman in San Diego, what fisherman are doing to be sustainable and the history of the fishing industry in San Diego.
- A fishmonger TBD will share the logistics of purchasing fish from different types of fisherman to sell at Poppas and his experience selling to the public.
- Chef Tommy Fraioli, a local chef at Sea Rocket Bistro, will talk about sourcing only the most sustainable, in-season and local seafood and turning those ingredients into creative entrees. He will speak about making the right decisions when purchasing seafood, and how it affects business, how to use the available fish to ‘break out of the mold” and what does sustainability mean to a chef.
- Dr. Russ Vetter will talk about the underwater ecosystems, fish population and historical data showing the effects of overfishing. Vetter oversees the diverse research of the Fisheries Resources Division, Southwest Fisheries Science Center, NOAA Fisheries Service. This Division takes an ecosystem approach to the study of high seas and coastal pelagic fisheries of the California Current based on the visionary California Cooperative Fisheries Investigations (CalCOFI).
Everyone is welcomed on Feb. 27 from 6 p.m. – 8 p.m. at NTC Command Center at 2640 Historic Decatur Road. The event is free and open to the public. The participants will enjoy light refreshments and beverages.
For more information, please visit Coastkeeper’s website page or email Coastkeeper’s volunteer and outreach coordinator at
[email protected].
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San Diego Coastkeeper
Founded in 1995, San Diego Coastkeeper aims to protect and restore fishable, swimmable and drinkable waters in San Diego County. Our team seeks always (and all ways) to be impactful, thoughtful, courageous, transparent, innovative, collaborative, consistent, passionate and exemplary. For more information, visit us online at https://www.sdcoastkeeper.org.
