MendoParks and California State Parks once again presenting this year’s Mendocino Coast California Coastal Cleanup Day on Saturday, September 19, 9:00 am – 12:00 pm. This cleanup is part of the statewide California Coastal Commission’s Coastal Cleanup Day and the International Coastal Cleanup Day, held in over 100 countries this year.
This year’s cleanup is more important than ever, according to MendoParks Executive Director Sid Garza-Hilman. “First, it is part of the Coastal Act’s 50th anniversary celebration — the Coastal Act, a law enacted in 1976 that has protected our unparalleled coastline. Second, projected rainfall from the upcoming El Niño will likely mean even more pollution washing onto our coastline from creeks and streams.”
In 1993, the Guinness Book of World Records recognized the California Coastal Cleanup Day as the “largest garbage collection” ever organized. California hosted its first cleanup day in 1985, organized by the Coastal Commission. Nearly 2,500 Californians participated in the inaugural Cleanup, and the program has grown exponentially since then.
To date, more than 1.8 million volunteers have removed more
than 27 million pounds of trash from beaches and inland waterways throughout California. Coastal Cleanup Day is a profoundly important part of that protection, bringing people together to pick up trash along Mendocino’s coastline, contribute data to science, and raise awareness of the dangers of marine debris.
“This event is so crucial to the beauty and health of the Mendocino Coast,” says Sid Garza-Hillman, MendoParks Executive Director. “MendoParks and the Sonoma-Mendocino Coast CA State Park District are honored to help make this cleanup happen.”
The Coast Cleanup will take place at multiple sites along the Mendocino Coast, each with its own Site Captain. For more information and to register, visit https://www.mendoparks.org/coastal-cleanup.