Going to Bat for SD by Stepping Up to the Plate as a Site Captain

San Diego Gas & Electric has been delivering San Diegans their power for almost 150 years. On top of their work providing around 45% clean energy to homes and businesses in this region – compared to an average of 8% nationwide – SDG&E supports many local nonprofits organizations that are working to improve the environment. This year, SDG&E and the San Diego Padres are Going to Bat for San Diego, and teaming up to support I Love A Clean San Diego and celebrate Coastal Cleanup Day.

 

ILACSD is proud to be part of the 2018 Going to Bat for San Diego Starting Lineup!

As a special thank you to volunteers that Go to Bat for San Diego, SDG&E and the Padres are recognizing Coastal Cleanup Day participants with a Volunteer Appreciation Night at the Padres game on Monday, September 17. Coastal Cleanup Day volunteers receive a promo code to purchase discounted tickets and be recognized for their accomplishments in keeping San Diego clean.

 

The 34th annual Coastal Cleanup Day will bring thousands of volunteers together on September 15th to beautify more than 100 beaches, parks, and other outdoor spaces throughout the region. Over the past 17 years, SDG&E has helped support I Love A Clean San Diego’s Coastal Cleanup Day efforts with the participation of thousands of employee volunteers! We are pleased to highlight two SDG&E heavy hitters who have stepped up to the plate to serve as site captains for Coastal Cleanup Day throughout the years.

Crystal Yousef

Crystal and her sidekick, Tipsie, at Coastal Cleanup Day 2013.

Crystal has been an SDG&E employee for 15 years and a Coastal Cleanup Day site captain for close to 10 years. She can always be counted on to go wherever there is a need, and Coastal Cleanup Day has led her on expeditions to Encanto, Poway, Golden Hill, and Rancho Bernardo, among other places.

In her day job, Crystal works at SDG&E’s Environmental Lab, which does environmental sampling and test analyses.  The Lab is certified to test for more than 500 chemical compounds, ensuring that SDG&E facilities are operating safely.

In Crystal’s decade of service at Coastal Cleanup Day, she says her favorite part of the annual volunteer event is seeing kids’ enthusiasm when they find a strange piece of trash. Whether it’s a shoe, a stuffed animal, or even a bathroom scale, kids often burst with excitement recounting where and how they found it, and in some instances, even make up stories for what they think the item is. It’s like trash show-and-tell.

Crystal also notes that she feels a sense of pride each year when she arrives at Coastal Cleanup Day to a sea of Team SDG&E volunteers outfitted in team t-shirts, which for many years were the two-toned tie-dye in the photo to the left. SDG&E and I Love A Clean San Diego are lucky to have folks like Crystal committed to ensuring a safe and successful cleanup for volunteers of all ages! This year, you can find Crystal helping out at the South Shores cleanup site in Mission Bay with Team SDG&E.

Hilary Haskell

Hilary participating in the 2016 City Heights Facelift with Team SDG&E.

Hilary has been an environmental enthusiast from a young age. In fact, in high school she conducted regular beach cleanups, and in college she interned with another environmental nonprofit, Orange County Coastkeeper. Fun fact: during Hilary’s internship, she helped to plan Kids’ Ocean Day in Orange County, aerial art and all! That’s the sister event to ILACSD’s San Diego Kids’ Ocean Day that occurs every spring.

Hilary joined SDG&E a little over two years ago and jumped right in with Coastal Cleanup Day. Last year, she led the San Dieguito Lagoon site for SDG&E, and this year you’ll find her at the Paradise Creek site in National City. Aside from having a good attitude and strong leadership qualities, Hilary brings another attribute to her role as site captain…she knows a lot about the environment! At SDG&E, she makes sure projects like the placing of a new power pole, or even the removal of one, don’t result in a detrimental environmental impact. She’s also one of the company’s leading sustainability advisors, helping to track SDG&E’s environmental performance in key areas.

While Hilary hasn’t been a part of Team SDG&E for very long, we anticipate that her involvement in Coastal Cleanup Day will continue for many years to come!

ILACSD is grateful for SDG&E’s longtime partnership and the hands-on role team members take on to make sure we knock Coastal Cleanup Day out of the park!

iHeartMedia Cleanup

Join ILACSD as we partner up with Clint August, 101.5 KGB, and San Diego County Toyota Dealers for a public cleanup in Mission Beach on Saturday, July 14 from 9:00 am to 11:00 am! Volunteers will pick up trash around Mission Beach Park located at 3000 Mission Boulevard, San Diego, CA 92109. We will be picking up litter and other debris to divert waste from the Mission Bay/La Jolla watershed and keep our beaches beautiful for the summer! This is a great opportunity for everyone to learn ways to protect our local environment. Look for the orange ILACSD canopy and Rock 101.5 KBG tent in Mission Beach Park.

We will have cleanup supplies, snacks, and water. We also provide community service hours and Letters of Appreciation for volunteers. This is a great opportunity for students and families to learn ways to protect our local environment!

We encourage volunteers to bring their own reusable items such as water bottles, work gloves, and buckets to promote zero waste practices and help us in our mission to have a zero waste, litter-free, and environmentally engaged San Diego region!

All volunteers are required to fill out a waiver form to participate and anyone under the age of 18 needs a waiver signed by their parent or guardian. Waivers can be signed the day of the cleanup on site. No registration is required beforehand!

See you there!

Coastal Cleanup Day 2018

The 34th Annual Coastal Cleanup Day is September 15, 2018!

Join us on Saturday, September 15th from 9:00 AM – 12:00 PM as we clean up and beautify over 100 sites throughout San Diego County! At last year’s efforts, with a turnout of 6,686 volunteers at 105 coastal and inland cleanup sites, we successfully removed 128,168 pounds of litter from San Diego County. Our volunteers channeled their appreciation for San Diego’s environment into action to protect it. Join us this year and be a part of this international event!

Registration opens mid-August! For more information, head over to CleanupDay.org

We hope to see you there!

Making Waves at Kids’ Ocean Day!

On May 24th, I Love A Clean San Diego celebrated its 20th Kids’ Ocean Day, fostering the next wave of environmentally informed and engaged students. Kids’ Ocean Day is not just an excuse for students to hang out at the beach during the school day. It actually begins weeks before in the schools with ILACSD staff facilitating educational presentations for local elementary school students! These students then join ILACSD and a team of volunteers at the beach for a litter cleanup and the formation of an aerial art piece.

During the assemblies, ILACSD educators teach students about the importance of marine life, how their actions affect the ocean, and how they have the power to protect the health our environment. “It was absolutely fantastic. We had kids eager to go to other beaches to clean them up. I can’t say enough good things about how much the kids loved the assembly,” said one teacher from Los Peñasquitos Elementary. The teacher explained how they loved their students being able to see others come together to make a difference for their community during the beach cleanup. The teacher was thrilled to have their students participate in Kids’ Ocean Day, saying, “Thank you so much for this incredible experience. We can’t thank you enough for this opportunity.”

Over the 20 years that ILACSD has hosted Kids’ Ocean Day, we have engaged 20,816 participants and removed approximately 7,280 lbs. of debris from San Diego’s coastline. 

Each year, the five participating California cities determine a statewide-theme for the artwork. The 2018 theme – “Waves of Change” – evokes images of our youngest generations propelling us forward towards a cleaner, safer, and more mindful future. It illustrates how our daily choices, including what we eat, wear, discard, and purchase, have far-reaching effects. This message is broadcast to the world through the art formation. It serves as a call to action for others to join the cause and be mindful of consumption and disposal habits. Check out the video below to see the final aerial art image being formed!

Students collected plastic debris on Mission Beach using re-purposed water jugs!  

“Kids’ Ocean Day is my favorite day of the year,” said Emily Nelson, Education Manager at I Love A Clean San Diego. “This entire event, from the assembly to the cleanup and aerial artwork, showcases the power of the individual, no matter their age. I hope each child realizes just how important and powerful they are.”

We would not have been able to make “Waves of Change” without the help of our sponsors, our volunteers, teachers, and students!

Thank you to all of our Kid’s Ocean Day sponsor for investing in a cleaner San Diego!

California’s Coastal Commission’s Whale Tail Grant Program and
the Protect Our Coast and Oceans Fund
Qualcomm Foundation
Cox Communications
Jack in the Box
Bumble Bee Seafoods
Alta Environmental
Wells Fargo
CRC CARES
U.S. Bank
ViaSat
Kohl’s
Einstein Bagels
Starbucks
Outside the Lens

Saving Summertime Celebrations from Litter with the Clean Beach Coalition

One of the best ways people choose to spend their holiday weekends is on the beach — especially in sunny San Diego. With Memorial Day, the Fourth of July, and Labor Day coming up, families and friends will flock to the coast to celebrate their long weekends. In response to the influx of locals and tourists, ILACSD and the San Diego Clean Beach Coalition (SDCBC) will place 200 temporary trash and recycling bins along some of the city’s busiest beaches to reduce the amount of beach and marine litter.

A Clean Beach Coalition recycling bins set out for the Fourth of July last summer!

Over the past decade, SDCBC has kept 3.5 million pounds of trash off the beach and out of the ocean. This past year, over 61,000 pounds of debris were collected during the summer holiday weekends. With the support of Think Blue San Diego, PB Shore Club, FreePB, and more, SDCBC aims to educate beachgoers about the benefits of swapping reusable alternatives for single-use products.

How can you make the most out of your holiday weekends while staying sustainable? SDCBC recommends that visitors bring hard plastic coolers, refillable water bottles, and food storage containers to reduce the amount of disposables items brought to the beach. Avoid bringing plastic straws and utensils! And make sure all recyclables are clean, dry, and empty. Spend less time worrying about your waste by visiting our zero waste database, WasteFreeSD.org, for everything you need to know about reusable options!

Summer can stay sustainable by simply packing reusable options when preparing to head to the beach!

In fact, your only worry while basking in the sun at the beach should be when to reapply sunscreen. That is why SDCBC’s goal is to ensure that the safety of the community and the ecosystem is not compromised by the impact of litter. With these easily accessible CBC bins, visitors are able to responsibly throw away and recycle their waste while still enjoying their vacations. Even at the most crowded beaches, people will still be able to enjoy the sun, sand, and the ocean in San Diego!

Not planning to hit the beach for the holidays? No worries! You can still party with a purpose while you celebrate this summer! A picture is all it takes to support ILACSD as the local Keep America Beautiful affiliate. With Absolut Vodka’s new Absolut America campaign, for every photo submitted through the site, $1 will be donated to Keep America Beautiful or another selected charity. After submitting your photo, you can share the decked out picture on social media to show how easy it is to support ILACSD and Keep America Beautiful all summer while you #PartyWithAPurpose with #AbsolutAmerica.

Support Keep America Beautiful and its affiliates by submitting a photo of how you party with a purpose to Absolut America!

With the Clean Beach Coalition and Absolut America, it is simple to #DoBeautifulThings. Just by recognizing the impact that waste has on water ecosystems, San Diegans are better prepared to act wisely when it comes to waste, especially during the summer holidays. For more information about the Clean Beach Coalition, make sure to visit CleanBeachCoalition.org.

Clean Cities Initiative: Imperial Beach Cleanup

Join ILACSD, SDG&E, and the Imperial Beach City Council for our Clean Cities Initiative: Imperial Beach Cleanup on Saturday, May 19, 2018, from 10:00 AM to 12:00 PM! Last year, over 200 dedicated volunteers joined us and put in the work to restore Imperial Beach for the Clean Cities Initiative, and we are excited to hold another cleanup in this important neighborhood! Volunteers will meet at the corner of 13th Street and Imperial Beach Blvd. and participate in a street sweep along sidewalks in the neighborhood!

We will have cleanup supplies, snacks, and water. We also provide community service hours and Letters of Appreciation for volunteers. This is a great opportunity for students and families to protect our local environment!

We encourage volunteers to bring their own reusable items such as water bottles, work gloves, and buckets to promote zero-waste practices and help us in our mission to have a zero waste, litter free and environmentally engaged San Diego region!

All volunteers are required to fill out a waiver form to participate and anyone under the age of 18 needs a waiver signed by their parent or guardian.

See you there!

For a map and directions, click HERE.
For the waiver, click HERE.
Register today!

Clean Beach Coalition Bin Assembly for Labor Day

As summer comes to an end, Labor Day is fast approaching, which means there is one last busy weekend for beach-goers to enjoy some fun in the sun! All of that fun and sun also brings an influx of visitors into San Diego during the holidays, and with all the extra people comes an increased amount of waste that overwhelms our current infrastructure.

Join ILACSD and the Clean Beach Coalition to ensure our beaches stay clean over the long holiday weekends. Help ILACSD assemble temporary trash and recycling bins that will be placed across San Diego beaches and bays to encourage beach-goers to properly dispose of their items throughout the busy Labor Day weekend. Join us in keeping our beaches clean!

Volunteers are required to fill out two waiver forms and anyone under the age of 18 needs both waivers signed by their parent or guardian. For this opportunity, all volunteers must be 16 years of age or over to participate.

If you are interested in participating, please email Natalia at nking@cleanSD.org to sign up!

Clean Beach Coalition Bin Assembly for 4th of July

It’s summer in San Diego, and that means basking in the sun on our beaches and bays to celebrate 4th of July! All of that fun and sun also brings an influx of visitors into San Diego during the holidays, and with all the extra people comes an increased amount of waste that overwhelms our current infrastructure.

Join ILACSD and the Clean Beach Coalition to ensure our beaches stay clean over the long holiday weekends. Help ILACSD assemble temporary trash and recycling bins that will be placed across San Diego beaches and bays to encourage beach-goers to properly dispose of their items throughout the busy 4th of July weekend. Join us in keeping our beaches clean!

Volunteers are required to fill out two waiver forms and anyone under the age of 18 needs both waivers signed by their parent or guardian. For this opportunity, all volunteers must be 16 years of age or over to participate.

If you are interested in participating, please email Natalia at nking@cleanSD.org to sign up!

Clean Beach Coalition Bin Assembly for Memorial Day

Spring is in full swing! In San Diego, that means basking in the sun on our beaches and bays to celebrate Memorial Day! All of that fun and sun can also bring an increased amount of trash to our beautiful city. Join ILACSD and the Clean Beach Coalition to ensure our beaches stay clean over the long holiday weekends. Help ILACSD assemble temporary trash and recycling bins that will be placed across San Diego beaches and bays to encourage beach-goers to properly dispose of their items throughout the busy Memorial Day weekend. Join us in keeping our beaches clean!

All of our volunteers are required to fill out two waiver forms and anyone under the age of 18 needs both waivers signed by their parent or guardian. For this opportunity, all volunteers must be 16 years of age or over to participate.

If you are interested in participating, please email Natalia at nking@cleanSD.org to sign up!

Over 6,000 Volunteers Celebrated Earth Day by Cleaning Up San Diego from Creek to Bay

This past weekend, we celebrated Earth Day by hosting our 16th Annual Creek to Bay Cleanup where we empowered an estimated 6,000 volunteers to give back at 113 cleanup sites around San Diego County! Volunteers including residents, corporate groups, and civic organizations transformed their appreciation for San Diego’s environment into action for Mother Earth by putting in the time and effort to give back in their local communities. During this three-hour cleanup, volunteers enhanced the overall health and beauty of San Diego’s natural environment by removing more than 175,000 pounds of trash and debris from San Diego County.

Volunteers joined site captain, Brittany Novick (Miss Scuba International), to help celebrate her birthday and Earth Day by protecting the environment at the Mission Beach Belmont Park cleanup site!
Among the debris, there were several notable odd items collected during the cleanup including: 19 shoes at one site, a giant teddy bear, and a bathrobe.

Volunteers also restored the local environment through beautification projects such as painting park structures, planting native plants and trees, mulching, and weeding. Thanks to thousands of volunteers, 113 parks, beaches and community spaces received special care to keep the area healthy and beautiful for the community.

Painting was just one of many beautification projects that volunteers could take part in on top of litter removal at Creek to Bay!

Creek to Bay was an opportunity for the community to go green in more ways than one. With a push toward zero waste practices, we encouraged all youth and adult volunteers to be more sustainable by choosing to bring at least one reusable item for the cleanup like a water bottle, work bucket, or gloves. Many stepped up to the challenge! Volunteers could showcase their zero waste commitments in the Sony Photo Contest with the 2018 theme of “Rocking Reusables” or by entering the Bling Your Bucket Contest. Both contests offer prizes to the winners to celebrate their sustainability and creativity.

Gabriel used recycled items to decorate his bucket for the Bling Your Bucket Contest helping cut back on the waste created at the cleanup!

Creek to Bay also received attention from several of San Diego’s elected officials who visited cleanup sites in their respective districts including:

  • San Diego City Councilmembers Barbara Bry, Myrtle Cole, Mark Kersey, David Alvarez, and Georgette Gomez
  • Assemblymembers Todd Gloria and Shirley Weber
Councilmember Bry helps kick off the Creek to Bay at the Scripps Pier site!

The entire I Love A Clean San Diego team could not be more thrilled and inspired by the results from the Creek to Bay Cleanup. Joining the team this year as Community Events Coordinator, Nik Kennedy reflected on his first Creek to Bay Cleanup experience:

This was my first year planning Creek to Bay, and after months of preparing it was amazing to be a part of the event! From recruiting volunteers to organizing activities, I was excited to see so many neighborhood volunteers come out and beautify Azalea Park and all of San Diego County! This was such an undertaking, and it was incredible to watch all of our work pay off for a cleaner environment.

Major thanks go out to all of our sponsors for the Creek to Bay Cleanup!

Creek to Bay would not be possible without the generous support of our sponsors and partners! Thank you all for your commitment to a clean, green, and beautiful San Diego!

Thank you to all of our Creek to Bay sponsors for investing in a cleaner San Diego!

City of San Diego, Think Blue
Wells Fargo
CBS 8/CW San Diego
Republic Services
EDCO
Walmart
Cox Communications
County of San Diego
County of San Diego Watershed Protection Program
Project Clean Water
Anheuser Busch
City of San Marcos
General Dynamics/ NASSCO
Dart Container
Sony
Bank of America
Dudek
Teledyne Instruments, Inc
San Diego Regional Airport Authority
City of La Mesa
Port of San Diego
City of Imperial Beach
City of Chula Vista
Michael Baker International
U.S. Bank
BAE Shipyard
Brown and Caldwell
Mitchell Financial
City of Escondido (Utilities Department)
City of Escondido (Recycling Division)
Dog Beach Dog Wash
Power Crunch

From the entire ILACSD team, THANK YOU to every volunteer, partner, sponsor, and community member who made Creek to Bay such an incredible success! We couldn’t do it without you!