SAN DIEGO — Saturday marked the 20th anniversary of the Creek to Bay Clean-Up. The non-profit, I Love a Clean San Diego, mobilized 5,000 volunteers in 75 sites from the border to Oceanside.
While you would think the bulk of the clean-ups would take place near the beach, the event kicked off in Gompers Park in East San Diego.
"We see litter on the beach, we immediately think action. But unfortunately, all that litter on the beach typically comes from the inland areas," says Steve Morris of I Love a Clean San Diego, "It flows down from the creeks, into the storm drains, out to the rivers."
Armed with a bucket and a grabber, the hundred or so volunteers set out to pick up whatever they could find. Old tires, a jumble of wires and a pair of lovely thigh-high boots were among the heap of single-use plastics and cigarette butts.
San Diego has a delicate ecosystem, our watersheds run from the mountains to the ocean carrying whatever goes in them out to sea. Our city's storm drains a direct link to those waterways.
"If it's untreated," says Morris. "It goes right into the creeks, right into the bays and right into the ocean."
I Love a Clean San Diego is hoping to remove more than 100,000 pounds of trash from San Diego County at the event. In a way, it’s a bit sad that clearing that much garbage won’t scratch the surface of what needs to be done. But it’s encouraging to see so many who care about the issue. Remember, reduce, reuse, recycle and that every day can be earth day.
To find a local clean up near you or to view the numbers from the 2022 event, click here.
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