ECOSLO calls for volunteers to participate in Coastal Cleanup Day in September 

ECOSLO is hosting its 19th annual coastal cleanup on Sept. 21 from 9 a.m. to noon, aiming to pick up trash along the Central Coast before fall and winter rains sweep it into the ocean.

ECOSLO Executive Director Kendra Paulding said the organization is anticipating 750 volunteers this year between its 30 sites countywide after having 500 volunteers show up at last year's cleanup. The 30 cleanup sites range from various parks, creeks, and coasts from San Simeon to Nipomo.

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• Photo Courtesy Of Ecoslo
• COASTAL CLEANUP On the annual International Coastal Cleanup Day, ECOSLO volunteers pick up trash to prevent it from being swept into the ocean in the fall.

Between the 500 volunteers in 2023, 10,000 pounds of trash was collected before it entered the ocean, Paulding said. The most common pieces of trash they found were cigarette butts, plastic, and food wrappers.

"Just doing our part is important, and obviously the volunteers love it," she said.

Paulding said the event is open to businesses and volunteers of any age, and in the past the cleanup has been a family event.

"This is something that is great for the kids," Paulding said. "We get a ton of kids that come out, and everyone really enjoys bringing their families."

The SLO County Creeks to Coast Clean Up Project has since evolved as ECOSLO teamed up with Central Coast Partners for Water Quality for this year's event, another local SLO County organization dedicated to improving stormwater systems.

"We're trying to make it bigger and better every year," Paulding said.

The Creeks to Coast Cleanup is ECOSLO's largest event that's held not only locally, but statewide through the California Coastal Commission and internationally with the Ocean Conservancy.

Through these various partnerships and volunteer efforts, the goal is to cover more sites and collect more trash every year.

ECOSLO's services also expand into other areas of the county, including county parks and green business consulting. Within county parks, volunteers can participate in various nature projects like tree planting, while the green business service provides free technical assistance for small- to medium-sized businesses to be more environmentally sustainable.

The nonprofit originally started more than 50 years ago after major pollution affected SLO county creeks, killing large amounts of fish and ruining the established ecosystem. ECOSLO's efforts to save and preserve the creeks helped it establish itself as an environmental organization, and it became a nonprofit in 1972 after founding SLO County's first recycling center in 1971.

"So, it was just a really big deal," Paulding said. "Throughout the years, we've done so many things."

Paulding stressed how rewarding it is to give back to the community and encouraged Central Coast residents to show up on Sept. 21.

To register to volunteer for the coastal cleanup visit ecoslo.org/creeks-to-coast.

Fast facts

• The Woods Humane Society will double donations made in August up to $10,000 thanks to a donation from the Marianne and Stacy Cocks Fund, a fund through the Community Foundation San Luis Obispo County. According to Woods CEO Emily L'Heureux, the county is currently experiencing an animal welfare crisis. Through the donation match, the shelter hopes to increase its adoption numbers to 3,000 this calendar year, up from 2,852 the previous year, according to Woods. To get your donation doubled, donate online at woodshumane.org or in person at Woods Humane Society SLO at 875 Oklahoma Ave., or Woods Humane Society North County at 2300 Ramona Road in Atascadero.

• The Cal Poly Girls Build Academy is partnering with Habitat for Humanity SLO County to build and donate four playhouses to various residents throughout the county. The construction will begin on Aug. 2, and recipients will receive the playhouses one week later. According to the press release, Habitat SLO provided the academy with the blueprints for the playhouses. The Girls Build Academy has designed the playhouses to make them unique for each organization or family that will be receiving one. "The Cal Poly Girls Build Summer Academy is a week-long academy hosted to introduce construction-related activities to 19 high school-aged girls so they can learn more about the careers available within the architecture, engineering, and construction industry, while learning skills to build individual and team projects," according to Cal Poly. Δ

Reach Staff Writer Libbey Hanson at [email protected].