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!
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!
On Thursday, October 12th, I Love a Clean San Diego hosted our annual Fall Social fundraising event, Brews by the Bay, at the iconic Catamaran Resort and Hotel, overlooking Mission Bay. This outdoor soiree brought together some of the top environmental leaders and community members of San Diego for an evening of music, fun, and a celebration of those who are making a difference to better our environment.
Guests were treated to the musical styling of Peter Hall while they enjoyed picturesque views and a tasty drink!
Guests were treated to the musical talents of Peter Hall, who played a variety of folk and classic rock songs, as well as the special guest emcee talents of Fox 5 News’ Brad Wills. With delicious food provided by the Catamaran and lively libations provided by Barefoot Wine & Bubbly and Baja Brewing Company, the event was the largest fundraiser of the year, with all proceeds supporting environmental change in San Diego County. A diverse and interesting silent auction included fabulous items such as tickets to Disneyland, a signed Mark McGwire baseball, camping gear from REI, staycations at many of the finest San Diego resorts, fashionable clothes by Patagonia, and much more. Guests who wanted to try their luck in the opportunity drawing had the chance to purchase “wingspan” lengths of tickets, which was quite the sight!
Senator Toni Atkins presented ILACSD with a Proclamation recognizing our work leading environmental action in San Diego!
Senator Toni Atkins started the program off with a passionate speech on the importance of each individual taking personal responsibility for the health of our community and presented I Love a San Diego with a Proclamation recognizing our dedication to creating a zero waste, litter-free, and environmentally engaged San Diego region. Brews by the Bay also provided the opportunity for I Love a Clean San Diego to recognize folks who give their time and energy to improving our community. Each honoree was presented their award (made from recycled ceramics!) by our local elected officials. The 2017 I Love a Clean San Diego honorees are:
Corporate Employee Engagement
Patagonia (Small Business Honoree) presented by 78th District Assemblymember Todd Gloria SDG&E (Large Business Honoree) presented by 77th District Assemblymember Brian Maienschein
Volunteer of the Year
Jonathan Applebaum presented by County of San Diego Supervisor Ron Roberts
Leader of Tomorrow
Katrina Berge presented by City of San Diego Councilmembers Barbara Bry and Lorie Zapf
Zero Waste Innovation Award
City of Chula Vista presented by City of Chula Vista Councilmember John McCann
I Love a Clean San Diego would like to thank our following sponsors: Sycuan, SDG&E, Cox Communications, Sony, Senator Toni Atkin’s Office, San Diego County Airport Authority, Harrison & Associates, and Morgan Stanley who have made this event and the work we do around San Diego County possible. We also thank everyone who joined us for Brews by the Bay, making it our largest fundraiser ever! Thanks to your support we have the ability to perform even more cleanup and beautification events, to engage more volunteers, to bring more environmental educational programming to our schools and communities, and to provide important recycling information to thousands of San Diegans throughout the county. Now that’s something to celebrate. Cheers!
Thank you all so much from your ILACSD team! Cheers!
On Thursday, October 12th, I Love a Clean San Diego hosted our annual Fall Social fundraising event, Brews by the Bay, at the iconic Catamaran Resort and Hotel, overlooking Mission Bay. This outdoor soiree brought together some of the top environmental leaders and community members of San Diego for an evening of music, fun, and a celebration of those who are making a difference to better our environment.
Guests were treated to the musical styling of Peter Hall while they enjoyed picturesque views and a tasty drink!
Guests were treated to the musical talents of Peter Hall, who played a variety of folk and classic rock songs, as well as the special guest emcee talents of Fox 5 News’ Brad Wills. With delicious food provided by the Catamaran and lively libations provided by Barefoot Wine & Bubbly and Baja Brewing Company, the event was the largest fundraiser of the year, with all proceeds supporting environmental change in San Diego County. A diverse and interesting silent auction included fabulous items such as tickets to Disneyland, a signed Mark McGwire baseball, camping gear from REI, staycations at many of the finest San Diego resorts, fashionable clothes by Patagonia, and much more. Guests who wanted to try their luck in the opportunity drawing had the chance to purchase “wingspan” lengths of tickets, which was quite the sight!
Senator Toni Atkins presented ILACSD with a Proclamation recognizing our work leading environmental action in San Diego!
Senator Toni Atkins started the program off with a passionate speech on the importance of each individual taking personal responsibility for the health of our community and presented I Love a San Diego with a Proclamation recognizing our dedication to creating a zero waste, litter-free, and environmentally engaged San Diego region. Brews by the Bay also provided the opportunity for I Love a Clean San Diego to recognize folks who give their time and energy to improving our community. Each honoree was presented their award (made from recycled ceramics!) by our local elected officials. The 2017 I Love a Clean San Diego honorees are:
Corporate Employee Engagement
Patagonia (Small Business Honoree) presented by 78th District Assemblymember Todd Gloria SDG&E (Large Business Honoree) presented by 77th District Assemblymember Brian Maienschein
Volunteer of the Year
Jonathan Applebaum presented by County of San Diego Supervisor Ron Roberts
Leader of Tomorrow
Katrina Berge presented by City of San Diego Councilmembers Barbara Bry and Lorie Zapf
Zero Waste Innovation Award
City of Chula Vista presented by City of Chula Vista Councilmember John McCann
I Love a Clean San Diego would like to thank our following sponsors: Sycuan, SDG&E, Cox Communications, Sony, Senator Toni Atkin’s Office, San Diego County Airport Authority, Harrison & Associates, and Morgan Stanley who have made this event and the work we do around San Diego County possible. We also thank everyone who joined us for Brews by the Bay, making it our largest fundraiser ever! Thanks to your support we have the ability to perform even more cleanup and beautification events, to engage more volunteers, to bring more environmental educational programming to our schools and communities, and to provide important recycling information to thousands of San Diegans throughout the county. Now that’s something to celebrate. Cheers!
Thank you all so much from your ILACSD team! Cheers!
Things are busy as ever at the I Love a Clean San Diego offices over in Liberty Station! While our tremendous Community Programs department winds down the final bits of our successful Coastal Cleanup Day, the ILACSD team is ramping up our efforts as we prepare for our biggest fundraiser of the year, our annual fall social – Brews by the Bay!
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On Thursday, October 12th, dedicated folks from all corners of San Diego will gather together for an evening to celebrate an incredible year of community building, volunteer action, and fun. Thanks to the hard work of over 33,000 San Diegans of all ages, we have removed over 310,000 pounds of harmful litter from our environment in 2017 so far, with more cleanup events scheduled through the end of the year. Now that’s something to celebrate!
In addition to celebrating our great accomplishments through the year, ILACSD will be honoring some of our neighborhood heroes for their tireless work to make San Diego a safe and healthy place for future generations. Our Brews by the Bay Honorees are:
Corporate Employee Engagement
Patagonia (Small Business Honoree) SDG&E (Large Business Honoree)
Volunteer of the Year
Jonathan Applebaum
Leader of Tomorrow
Katrina Berge
Zero Waste Innovation Award
City of Chula Vista
This evening soiree will take place on the bay view lawn of The Catamaran Resort and Spa in Mission Bay. Guests will enjoy delightful cuisine, a spectacular silent auction and raffle, networking with the top environmental advocates in our community, and hosted beverages from our generous partners at the Baja Brewing Company and Barefoot Wines. As this event is all outdoors, we recommend wearing comfortable shoes and bringing a light sweater for when the weather cools down.
Make sure to keep an eye on the auction bid sheets! With an impressive lineup of prizes including a family 4-pack of tickets to Disneyland, dining at the hottest spots in North Park, signed sports memorabilia, brewery tours, and even a 7-night Hawaiian vacation, the bidding is sure to be competitive!
ILACSD is thrilled to welcome Peter Hall as our special entertainer for the evening, who will treat attendees with his wonderful live musical talents. And of course, what San Diego evening would be complete without a signature craft beer or two? Be sure to stop by our Oktoberfest-style Bites and Brews station, presented by Karl Strauss. For a small donation, guests will enjoy a special beer tasting experience, with tasty sausage and pretzel bites too! A fun photo booth will be onsite as well so you and your friends can make memories that will last a lifetime. This event is not to be missed!
Tickets are going quickly and can be found online here. Advanced tickets are only $45 now through October 8th! A limited number of tickets will be available online and at the door and will cost $50 each. Pick up yours today and join ILACSD as we celebrate this awesome year!
We’d like to thank all of our sponsors for helping make Brews by the Bay possible!
Things are busy as ever at the I Love a Clean San Diego offices over in Liberty Station! While our tremendous Community Programs department winds down the final bits of our successful Coastal Cleanup Day, the ILACSD team is ramping up our efforts as we prepare for our biggest fundraiser of the year, our annual fall social – Brews by the Bay!
.
On Thursday, October 12th, dedicated folks from all corners of San Diego will gather together for an evening to celebrate an incredible year of community building, volunteer action, and fun. Thanks to the hard work of over 33,000 San Diegans of all ages, we have removed over 310,000 pounds of harmful litter from our environment in 2017 so far, with more cleanup events scheduled through the end of the year. Now that’s something to celebrate!
In addition to celebrating our great accomplishments through the year, ILACSD will be honoring some of our neighborhood heroes for their tireless work to make San Diego a safe and healthy place for future generations. Our Brews by the Bay Honorees are:
Corporate Employee Engagement
Patagonia (Small Business Honoree) SDG&E (Large Business Honoree)
Volunteer of the Year
Jonathan Applebaum
Leader of Tomorrow
Katrina Berge
Zero Waste Innovation Award
City of Chula Vista
This evening soiree will take place on the bay view lawn of The Catamaran Resort and Spa in Mission Bay. Guests will enjoy delightful cuisine, a spectacular silent auction and raffle, networking with the top environmental advocates in our community, and hosted beverages from our generous partners at the Baja Brewing Company and Barefoot Wines. As this event is all outdoors, we recommend wearing comfortable shoes and bringing a light sweater for when the weather cools down.
Make sure to keep an eye on the auction bid sheets! With an impressive lineup of prizes including a family 4-pack of tickets to Disneyland, dining at the hottest spots in North Park, signed sports memorabilia, brewery tours, and even a 7-night Hawaiian vacation, the bidding is sure to be competitive!
ILACSD is thrilled to welcome Peter Hall as our special entertainer for the evening, who will treat attendees with his wonderful live musical talents. And of course, what San Diego evening would be complete without a signature craft beer or two? Be sure to stop by our Oktoberfest-style Bites and Brews station, presented by Karl Strauss. For a small donation, guests will enjoy a special beer tasting experience, with tasty sausage and pretzel bites too! A fun photo booth will be onsite as well so you and your friends can make memories that will last a lifetime. This event is not to be missed!
Tickets are going quickly and can be found online here. Advanced tickets are only $45 now through October 8th! A limited number of tickets will be available online and at the door and will cost $50 each. Pick up yours today and join ILACSD as we celebrate this awesome year!
We’d like to thank all of our sponsors for helping make Brews by the Bay possible!
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!
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!
Can you believe it’s already September? In the ILACSD office, that means we’re in full swing for Coastal Cleanup Day! It seems unreal that it is less than two weeks away. As we amp up for this huge day of action for our environment, we wanted to take some time to show some love to our cleanup sites that are still in need of more volunteers! Volunteers are encouraged to register at a cleanup site in need today at CleanupDay.org!
Stop inland trash and debris from making it out to the beach this Coastal Cleanup Day!
While the beach locations are a big hit for Coastal Cleanup Day, it is still vitally important to spread out our efforts throughout the county. San Diego County has 11 different watersheds that carry debris out to the coast and ocean. This year, we want to encourage volunteers to explore a newer area also! Stop debris from even reaching the beach where it is more likely to end up in the ocean and affect the wildlife.
With over 100 cleanup and beautification sites throughout San Diego County, Coastal Cleanup Day offers this unique opportunity to explore new areas in your own town! Volunteers can find a new area for hiking or a neighborhood park they never knew about before. Check out some of the sites listed below to find a new site you’d be interested in volunteering at on Coastal Cleanup Day. Who knows, maybe you’ll find your new favorite hidden gem in San Diego!
Click any of the sites listed below to take you directly to the registration page for that location. If you have any questions about these sites or Coastal Cleanup Day in general, feel free to reach out to our Community Programs Coordinator, Michelle Freeman.
Central San Diego:
Alpine Creek before volunteers cleaned it up last year on Coastal Cleanup Day.
This year’s Coastal Cleanup Day is set for Saturday, September 16th from 9:00 AM – 12:00 PM. One local wetland has benefitted from the work of a dedicated group of volunteers for the last 25 years, and it is once again set to be a site for the annual volunteer effort.
Paradise Creek Educational Park is a public park in the Old Town neighborhood of National City that was designed to increase environmental stewardship and to provide a place of respite in the busy city. Paradise Creek has flowed out to San Diego Bay as part of the Sweetwater River watershed for thousands of years. In 1999, the non-profit organization, Paradise Creek Educational Park Inc., formed to carry out the mission of advocating for and preserving the salt marsh wetlands. Since that year, a group of community members, teachers, students, families, and others have been holding Creek Day cleanups on the last Saturday of every month.
On this year’s Coastal Cleanup Day, the park will hold a small celebration of the recent completion of work carried out by the City of National City. Come out and take a walk through the new entry way of native plants at 1815 Hoover Avenue in National City. Also, there is a new schoolyard garden that can be visited. Check out the Paradise Creek Facebook page for more information.
There is still time to register to volunteer at the Paradise Creek site on Coastal Cleanup Day. Head over to CleanupDay.org to sign up at Paradise Creek or one of the other 100+ cleanup sites in San Diego County for Coastal Cleanup Day and be a part of this international day of action!
