Rethink Recycling That Same Old Date

Valentine’s Day…it’s almost here! For some of you, that could mean absolutely nothing (shout out to all of my sustainable singles – I’m happy to be in good company). But for those of you who find yourself coupled up this February, it can be a struggle to celebrate your sweetheart with a holiday that often seems to focus on consumerism and neglect conservation. As an organization that has love in our title, we’re here to help you with some ideas on how to show love to your special someone and San Diego’s environment without the added waste!

Let’s be real, dates can be a little monotonous. As a single, 20-something, I have personally been on a countless amount of dates that, aside from the person I was with, were completely interchangeable. For me, it was the dates where we did something just a little creative and normally pretty simple that I always recall. Here are a few of my personal favorites that might inspire you to change up the usual dinner and a movie with a box of chocolate and flowers.

Hammock Hangouts 

Once, a date surprised me with a sweet little hang session…and I do mean hang. After setting up a hammock at Sunset Cliffs Natural Park, we talked, relaxed, and enjoyed the sunset at one of my favorite spots in San Diego. With all of the scenic spots around San Diego, you have a vast amount of options to explore and enjoy with your date.

Share a sunset view with someone special.

Blanket, Basket, and your Babe

If you’re not into the hammock and hangout idea, grab a blanket and a basket instead. When my date filled up a basket with delicious snacks and all the necessary reusable items for a picnic, I was amazed. Is it just me or does throwing down a blanket at Kate Sessions Park beat any table you could be sat at in a restaurant?

Prep your picnic with reusable items for a sustainable outing with your significant other.

Cook as a Couple

While dining out is the popular go-to for dates, I still prefer the night my date and I stayed in to cook a homemade meal together. Whether you prefer to prepare a meal for your partner or cook as a couple, the experience is one you won’t forget. Don’t forget to plan your menu in advance so you can buy any ingredients in bulk and avoid excess packaging.

Cleanup with your Cutie

Want to drastically change up your idea of a perfect date? Show your date you care by creating a cleaner community to enjoy together. Sign up to volunteer with your sweetheart for a Saturday filled with sunshine and sustainability. Head into Valentine’s Day with full hearts from eco-friendly experiences, and join us for the Cupid’s Cleanup on Saturday, February 10th at 10:00 AM in Ocean Beach at Robb Field. Celebrate after the cleanup at Mike Hess Tasting Room. As a thank you to those who participate in the cleanup, Mike Hess will be running a special for all volunteers offering beers for only $5 each!

Volunteer with your Valentine at ILACSD’s Cupid’s Cleanup on February 10th.

No matter how you choose to celebrate Valentine’s Day this year, just remember, we only have one planet to love. Let’s make sure we treat it right. ♥

Rethink Recycling That Same Old Date

Valentine’s Day…it’s almost here! For some of you, that could mean absolutely nothing (shout out to all of my sustainable singles – I’m happy to be in good company). But for those of you who find yourself coupled up this February, it can be a struggle to celebrate your sweetheart with a holiday that often seems to focus on consumerism and neglect conservation. As an organization that has love in our title, we’re here to help you with some ideas on how to show love to your special someone and San Diego’s environment without the added waste!

Let’s be real, dates can be a little monotonous. As a single, 20-something, I have personally been on a countless amount of dates that, aside from the person I was with, were completely interchangeable. For me, it was the dates where we did something just a little creative and normally pretty simple that I always recall. Here are a few of my personal favorites that might inspire you to change up the usual dinner and a movie with a box of chocolate and flowers.

Hammock Hangouts 

Once, a date surprised me with a sweet little hang session…and I do mean hang. After setting up a hammock at Sunset Cliffs Natural Park, we talked, relaxed, and enjoyed the sunset at one of my favorite spots in San Diego. With all of the scenic spots around San Diego, you have a vast amount of options to explore and enjoy with your date.

Share a sunset view with someone special.

Blanket, Basket, and your Babe

If you’re not into the hammock and hangout idea, grab a blanket and a basket instead. When my date filled up a basket with delicious snacks and all the necessary reusable items for a picnic, I was amazed. Is it just me or does throwing down a blanket at Kate Sessions Park beat any table you could be sat at in a restaurant?

Prep your picnic with reusable items for a sustainable outing with your significant other.

Cook as a Couple

While dining out is the popular go-to for dates, I still prefer the night my date and I stayed in to cook a homemade meal together. Whether you prefer to prepare a meal for your partner or cook as a couple, the experience is one you won’t forget. Don’t forget to plan your menu in advance so you can buy any ingredients in bulk and avoid excess packaging.

Cleanup with your Cutie

Want to drastically change up your idea of a perfect date? Show your date you care by creating a cleaner community to enjoy together. Sign up to volunteer with your sweetheart for a Saturday filled with sunshine and sustainability. Head into Valentine’s Day with full hearts from eco-friendly experiences, and join us for the Cupid’s Cleanup on Saturday, February 10th at 10:00 AM in Ocean Beach at Robb Field. Celebrate after the cleanup at Mike Hess Tasting Room. As a thank you to those who participate in the cleanup, Mike Hess will be running a special for all volunteers offering beers for only $5 each!

Volunteer with your Valentine at ILACSD’s Cupid’s Cleanup on February 10th.

No matter how you choose to celebrate Valentine’s Day this year, just remember, we only have one planet to love. Let’s make sure we treat it right. ♥

CitSciMed Blitz, Rare Disease Day, and more

It's finally February which means it's time to prepare for Rare Disease Day 2018 and CitSciMedBlitz! This year's theme for Rare Disease Day continues off of last year's theme--research. According to RareDiseaseDay.org, patients are not only subjects but also proactive actors in research--and we couldn't agree more! Mark2Cure would not be where it is now without the inspiration, contributions, and drive from our partners and contributors in the rare disease community. Mark2Curators have inspired us with their generosity, perseverance, curiosity, and overall intellectual voraciousness--and for us, Rare Disease Day is an opportunity to share about the diseases that the Mark2Cure community cares about--and not just NGLY1-deficiency. If there is a disease that you care about that you'd like us to highlight for Rare Disease Day, please get in touch.

Patients are not only subjects but also proactive actors in research.
Patients kick start research
Patients drive research
Patients organize research
Patients proactively provide data

The increasing role of patients in research is not limited to Rare Disease
As citizen science becomes increasingly popular in biomedical research, patients and care providers are becoming increasingly important partners for disease research in general. And, as many of you have pointed out--we will all be patients at some point in our lives so it's nice to be able to actively contribute to disease research.

In addition to helping to organize the knowledge surrounding NGLY1-deficiency, patients and citizen scientists have been making important contributions to Alzheimer's disease research and contributing to health evidence--all of which brings us back to CitSciMed Blitz!

CitSciMed Blitz is coming

Similar to last year's MedLitBlitz, there will be prizes for the top contributors to all THREE platforms. Only participation during the 24hr challenges will count towards the prize, however, you are welcome to register and complete the training for the other platforms prior to the event if you'd like. Learn more about the event and the other platforms here.

Loving Lemon Grove and Enhancing Encanto

This year, I Love A Clean San Diego was selected as a recipient of the 2017 Keep America Beautiful/Lowe’s Community Partners Grant Program which has provided funds to conserve, protect, and enhance areas in Lemon Grove and Encanto.

The 2017 Keep America Beautiful/Lowe’s Community Partners Grant Program engages local volunteers to take action to benefit their community with projects that focus on critical needs. I Love A Clean San Diego’s grant program has already impacted both Lemon Grove and Encanto by supporting beautification and cleanup events in those communities. One final day of action for Lemon Grove is still to come on November 4th.

Lemon Grove Park volunteers had a blast while giving back in their community!

As a result of this grant program, on September 16th, we were able to expand two of our smaller Coastal Cleanup Day sites into large scale cleanups with additional projects to improve the parks! On this day, we had focused beautification efforts on Encanto Park and Lemon Grove Park. Between the two sites, over 130 volunteers removed 129 pounds of trash and 57 pounds of recycling from the areas. On top of the debris removed, volunteers accomplished impressive feats by removing brush, weeding landscape, planting 90 native plants, spread mulch, painting 9 structures, and removing graffiti.

Even with all the fun, those volunteers completed many beautification projects around the park!

On October 21st, we hosted the third event in Lemon Grove’s Civic Center Park. With a turnout of over 120 individuals, volunteers joined forces to remove litter – collecting 128 pounds of trash and 28 pounds of recycling, as well as some household hazardous waste like batteries and syringes. In addition to the cleanup, volunteers collected an unprecedented amount of cigarette litter from landscaped areas, spread new mulch over approximately 200 square feet of landscape, planted 95 various plants in that space, and painted the exterior of a nearby public restroom.  Overall, volunteers made efforts to drastically improve the area surrounding the Lemon Grove Depot station, a landmark of Lemon Grove, and removed over 150 pounds of debris from entering the storm water system and flowing to the Pacific Ocean!

Volunteers completed painting and planting projects at Lemon Grove Park on October 21st!

The work isn’t done just yet! We’ll be in Lemon Grove once again for a final event as a part of this grant program. On Saturday, November 4th, we are slated to complete another cleanup featuring even more beautification projects for Lemon Grove’s Berry Street Park. Volunteers can still register for this event and become a channel for change in their community. So roll up your sleeves, and let’s get to work!

Loving Lemon Grove and Enhancing Encanto

This year, I Love A Clean San Diego was selected as a recipient of the 2017 Keep America Beautiful/Lowe’s Community Partners Grant Program which has provided funds to conserve, protect, and enhance areas in Lemon Grove and Encanto.

The 2017 Keep America Beautiful/Lowe’s Community Partners Grant Program engages local volunteers to take action to benefit their community with projects that focus on critical needs. I Love A Clean San Diego’s grant program has already impacted both Lemon Grove and Encanto by supporting beautification and cleanup events in those communities. One final day of action for Lemon Grove is still to come on November 4th.

Lemon Grove Park volunteers had a blast while giving back in their community!

As a result of this grant program, on September 16th, we were able to expand two of our smaller Coastal Cleanup Day sites into large scale cleanups with additional projects to improve the parks! On this day, we had focused beautification efforts on Encanto Park and Lemon Grove Park. Between the two sites, over 130 volunteers removed 129 pounds of trash and 57 pounds of recycling from the areas. On top of the debris removed, volunteers accomplished impressive feats by removing brush, weeding landscape, planting 90 native plants, spread mulch, painting 9 structures, and removing graffiti.

Even with all the fun, those volunteers completed many beautification projects around the park!

On October 21st, we hosted the third event in Lemon Grove’s Civic Center Park. With a turnout of over 120 individuals, volunteers joined forces to remove litter – collecting 128 pounds of trash and 28 pounds of recycling, as well as some household hazardous waste like batteries and syringes. In addition to the cleanup, volunteers collected an unprecedented amount of cigarette litter from landscaped areas, spread new mulch over approximately 200 square feet of landscape, planted 95 various plants in that space, and painted the exterior of a nearby public restroom.  Overall, volunteers made efforts to drastically improve the area surrounding the Lemon Grove Depot station, a landmark of Lemon Grove, and removed over 150 pounds of debris from entering the storm water system and flowing to the Pacific Ocean!

Volunteers completed painting and planting projects at Lemon Grove Park on October 21st!

The work isn’t done just yet! We’ll be in Lemon Grove once again for a final event as a part of this grant program. On Saturday, November 4th, we are slated to complete another cleanup featuring even more beautification projects for Lemon Grove’s Berry Street Park. Volunteers can still register for this event and become a channel for change in their community. So roll up your sleeves, and let’s get to work!

Preliminary Counts from a Remarkable Coastal Cleanup Day as Results Continue to Roll In

While results continue to trickle in from this year’s Coastal Cleanup Day, one result we can’t overlook is the incredible time that was had by all of our participants! From volunteers picking up litter at the beaches to groups removing graffiti and refurbishing playground equipment, the volunteers expressed the immense joy they took away from the experience! As a direct result of all of that hard work, San Diegans are now able to enjoy more than 100 clean outdoor spaces free of litter!

ILACSD’s Pauline with our sponsors and speakers officially kicking off Coastal Cleanup Day by planting a tree.

For the past 30 years, I Love A Clean San Diego has coordinated Coastal Cleanup Day in San Diego County as part of a statewide and international cleanup effort to restore coastlines across the globe. The effort is coordinated statewide by the California Coastal Commission and internationally by The Ocean Conservancy. While international totals for 2017 are not available yet, in 2016, in 92 countries around the world 504,583 volunteers picked up more than 18 million pounds of trash!

A before and after look at the D Street Fill cleanup site in National City!

ILACSD team members woke up extra early on Saturday morning to lead more than 250 volunteers in beautification projects at Golden Hill Park. Even with volunteers spread out among various beautification projects including mulching, tree planting, mural paints, and storm drain stenciling, they still managed to clear out over 2,500 pounds of debris! 

As for the entire county, preliminary totals for Coastal Cleanup Day in San Diego indicate that we had over 7,500 volunteers cleaning up 105 local creeks, canyons, beaches, and bays as part of this event!  While the trash totals are still being compiled, we are expecting that more than 150,000 pounds of trash were removed from San Diego County. On top of the trash removal, volunteers also beautified and enhanced the local environment through painting murals, removing invasive plants, planting trees, mulching, and performing a variety of park maintenance projects.

Volunteers painted a mural at the Golden Hill Recreation Center!
Volunteers preparing an area to be mulched.

Every year at Coastal Cleanup Day and Creek to Bay, our two annual countywide cleanups, we see that cigarette butts and small plastic items are our most commonly found items. While unfortunately, this information is not that surprising, we are often stunned by some of the unique pieces of litter that our volunteers find. Some of the favorites this year include a dish rack, costume vampire teeth, RV door, an elephant shrine, and a Charger’s jersey.

Volunteers at Spanish Landing found dentures during their cleanup.

Many thanks go out to all that donated their time and effort to volunteer with us on Coastal Cleanup Day. We feel lucky to put on such a beloved event with dedicated and wonderful participants every year! This year, we had individuals, groups, and corporate volunteer teams out all over the county representing various organizations including SDG&E, Wells Fargo, Lincoln Military Housing, Bank of America, San Diego County Water Authority, San Diego Metropolitan Credit Union, Illumina, Evans Hotels, and a large number of scout troops!

Bank of America volunteers winding down after cleaning up the Golden Hill site!

 

Volunteers from SDG&E excited to clean up at the Scripps Ranch site.

See more pictures from Coastal Cleanup Day and our other cleanups on Facebook and Instagram!

Looking to join us at our next event? We have a quite a few volunteer opportunities coming up. Visit our upcoming events page for more information on how to get involved!