Larry Fishman, a member of the Cayucos Land Conservancy since 2003, picks up debris during a Coastal Cleanup Day led by the CLC. Photo courtesy of CLC
Beachgoers, lake lovers and the conservationist-minded are encouraged to join international efforts to protect coastlines, marine life and waterways, and it can all be done locally in a few hours on Saturday, Sept. 21.
The 40th Annual California Coastal Cleanup Day is organized statewide by the California Coastal Commission. The Environmental Center of San Luis Obispo County (ECOSLO) has organized local efforts since 2005. In 2019, the non-profit joined forces for local events with the Central Coast Partners for Water Quality.
“We’ve been combining efforts to bring the entire community together to clean our beautiful watersheds and coastline – from the creeks to the coast,” said ECOSLO Executive Director Kendra Paulding. “With 27 cleanup sites to choose from, spanning SLO County from Paso Robles to Nipomo, there are opportunities for volunteers of all ages to participate.”
Trash can fatally harm marine wildlife through entanglement, ingestion, and disruption of habitat. Marine debris can also be a danger to human health. Nails, glass, and syringes on the beach can cause physical harm to beachgoers. Additionally, trash in our waterways increases the number of pathogens and chemicals, impacting water quality.
In 2023, ECOSLO reported 3,829 pounds of trash was picked up, 236 of which was made of recyclable material. The number one item picked up was cigarette butts and filters, number two was food wrappers and containers.
The Estero Bluffs is on the list of sites volunteers are needed to help with
Coastal Cleanup Day on Sept. 21. Photo by George Lepp
As owners of a conservation easement in Estero Bluffs State Park, the Cayucos Land Conservancy (CLC) takes part in the beach clean-up day along the 4-mile state park and the edge of Highway 1, from North Ocean Avenue to Villa Creek.
“Our team picks up between 200 and 300 of pounds of trash and recyclables each year,” Mary Bettencourt, CLC membership chair, told Estero Bay News. “We generally have between 20 and 40 volunteers at the Estero Bluffs site.”
Bettencourt said the most prevalent items picked up are food containers, either full size or pieces of them, as well as beer and cocktail cans and bottles. All of which are sadly the norm at cleanups across the state.
“Fortunately, we live in an area that is cared for by its residents and visitors,” Bettencourt said. “There is very little trash along the trails at Estero Bluffs. You could carry a bag when you’re out there hiking and retrieve a few bits. A lot of the trash we collect has been blown out of – or tossed out of – trucks and cars traveling on Highway 1 or discarded by folks who’ve pulled into the turnouts — over 4 million visitors go by every year.”
However, CLC has also removed a couch, 4-6 truck tires over the years, and once a GMC truck hood was hauled out of the creek bed, parts of which Bettencourt says are now artwork.
CLC has a couple of different types of volunteer work for folks to get involved with by either helping organize the event or turning out to actively help with the cleanup.
To sign up to help organize the event, email to: hello@cayucoslandconservancy.org, and let them know what activity you’d like to perform. They need people to set up, sign up trash collectors, photograph the event, weigh and document what they pick up, and help tearing down.
If you want to lend a hand with the cleanup, no reservations are needed, just show up a little before 9 a.m. at the “Fig Tree” parking lot area. That’s the parking area adjacent to Hwy 1 and furthest north on the bluffs (past San Geronimo Creek Road). Look for the Land Conservancy’s banner.
“Everyone is welcome, all children must be accompanied by an adult, no pets,” Bettencourt said. “We can use a few dozen people to work in teams, tabulating their collections as they go.”
Participants are asked to bring gloves, a bucket or trash bags and a grabber tool if you have one. Volunteers that bring their own bucket or bags will be entered into a raffle for a “Thank You” gift.
For more information about the Cayucos Land Conservancy, go to www.cayucoslandconservancy.org and click Support CLC.
In Morro Bay, the Friends of the Harbor Department is organizing a cleanup at Bayshore Bluffs Park, located on Bayshore Drive (the condos leading up to State Park Road).
The cleanup is from 9 a.m. to noon. The Friends are hoping to get about 30 volunteers to walk the shore from the Bayshore Bluffs Beach. They ask folks to sign up through the ECO-SLO website, see: www.ecoslo.com/volunteer.
Volunteers will get a free T-shirt when they show up for the workday. Bring a reusable water bottle, sunscreen and a hat, gloves and other volunteers, too.
Also, Coastal Cleanups are being held locally at Morro Rock, the Baywood Pier in Los Osos, at Dog Beach (Morro Strand), and the 24th Street Beach and Cayucos Pier in Cayucos. There’s also a cleanup at Moonstone Beach and Santa Rosa Creek in Cambria.
Sign up for these or other cleanup events in SLO and South County through the website.
Last year our volunteers removed 11,511 pounds of trash and recyclables from our beaches, waterways, and lakes! For the past 10 years, Central Coast Partners for Water Quality have hosted Creek Day in late September, tackling the creeks and inland sites – working to pick up heavy loads of trash to prevent that debris from eventually finding its way to the ocean.
For more information on how to get involved, visit ecoslo.org or call (805) 710-8017/email Ellie@ecoslo.org
In 1993, California Coastal Cleanup Day was recognized by the Guinness Book of World Records as the “largest garbage collection” ever organized, with 50,405 volunteers. The event now takes place in almost every county across the state.
