There have been 900 pickups spanning 600 miles and counting. These numbers are a combination of individual cleanup efforts and monthly group cleanups.

SAN DIEGO — Preserving the beauty and cleanliness of San Diego County is top of mind for one eco-friendly non-profit. The Street Stewards are turning the county green, one clean up at a time, in real-time.

The concept started with the Founder and Executive Director of Street Stewards, Aaron Null, who was not happy seeing trash on the streets of his Ocean Beach community.

“So, I made a map. I put my adoption on there and a little green line, and I told the community about it,” said Null.

Combining his love to keep OB beautiful and graphic design skills, Aaron’s one green line grew to more green lines on their live interactive map tailored to San Diego County. The website allows visitors to track clean ups across the county through community and individual efforts by adopting a block. 

“These are recent pickups from fellow Street Stewards. You can see details about them, and they may even post pictures. And this is where you would record your own pickup. You can record the date, name, how many bags, how many pounds and you can set this as your home adoption. So, it is very easy to repeat this,” said Null, explaining how the map works.

There have been 900 pickups spanning 600 miles and counting. These numbers are a combination of individual cleanup efforts and monthly group cleanups. 

Encinitas is described as an exciting new Street Stewards community by Null because of the surge in volunteers.

“January was our first clean up here, and we are at 500 pounds of trash. So, we average anywhere between like 50 to, last one was, 90 pounds,” said John Wick, who serves as the Lead Captain overseeing all of Encinitas. 

Wick, along with Mark O’Connor, who serves as the Core Captain for Old Downtown Encinitas, team up with volunteers every second Saturday of the month for an hour and a half to two hours starting at 8 a.m.

They focus on picking up trash in the streets and alleys before the waste makes its way to our beaches and in our waterways. 

The Street Stewards in Encinitas have recorded 69 pickups over a little more than 101 miles and counting. Take it from a captain, each action adds up. 

“It feels small, it’s like saving a dollar. Saving a dollar is not that difficult, but do that consistently, it adds up. So, kind of the same principle,” said Wick.

They’ve even had as many as 200 people at a cleanup, but the average head count is around 10 people per clean up. This non-profit even has the attention of the Mayor of Encinitas attention, who has personally volunteered his time.

“Encinitas is very environmentally sensitive, but the reason is this volunteer based group is going around cleaning up our streets. I mean both sides, everybody likes that,” Encinitas Mayor Bruce Ehlers said.

Sporting lime green shirts and orange trash pickers, volunteers of all ages are hitting the pavement.

“It’s really our generation that can make a difference and we’re the ones left to the planet. So, I think it is just really important to help out where we can and just get involved early on,” said one of the teenage volunteers. 

Street Stewards also expands beyond Encinitas. There is a crew that meets in Escondido. People can see them in green shirts and reflective vests carefully strolling along the roadways picking up trash like cigarette butts. 

On the second Saturday of every month, people might even spot a trio that call themselves the “Three Trashy Ladies,” who started volunteering in 2021. 

The man tying these two spots together is Escondido resident, Scott Horst. He is an Executive Director for Street Stewards, and he wants the entire county to be sporting green. 

“We’re looking for captains in every community across San Diego County; we currently have four of them. We have Escondido. We have Downtown San Diego. We have Ocean Beach. We have Encinitas, but I need them in every other community,” said Horst.

A captain promotes Street Stewards in their community by getting their neighbors and local businesses involved with the monthly group cleanups and promoting the program on social media. 

If you are interested in adopting your block, being a captain for your community, donating, or just learning more about this local non-profit, check out their website here.