Press Release

6th annual creek to bay cleanup yields tons of trash !

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

posted: April 26, 2008

SAN DIEGO COUNTY, CA – Just a few hours ago, thousands of San Diegans gathered at sixty-three cleanup sites throughout San Diego County to participate in I Love A Clean San Diego’s 6th Annual Creek to Bay Cleanup. This year’s event, sponsored by the County Board of Supervisors through the support of Supervisor Greg Cox and Supervisor Pam Slater-Price, brought together San Diegans from Imperial Beach to Oceanside Pier, and Fallbrook to El Cajon. With 4,090 volunteers pre-registered for the event, coordinators expect to see record breaking statistics once all totals are reported.

With 79% of Creek to Bay sites reporting their totals thus far, I Love A Clean San Diego speculates that the event boasted up to 4,000 volunteers. Based on the totals reported thus far, these motivated volunteers collected an astonishing 160,000 pounds of debris from 130 miles of coastline and open space areas. Most commonly found items included lobster traps, tires, and beverage containers. Each site held contests for most unusual item. Some of the finalists included: a bowling ball, a pink boom box, and a dishwasher.

This year’s Creek to Bay Cleanup kicked off at Los Penasquitos Canyon Preserve where Supervisor Pam Slater-Price and other sponsors addressed the crowd, thanking these environmental stewards for their dedication to the community. KFMB Channel 8’s Natasha Stenbock greeted volunteers in the morning and prepared them for a fun-filled cleanup where volunteers spanned over 10 miles of picturesque canyons and creek beds.

The City of San Diego and SDG&E hosted a compact fluorescent light bulb (CFL) exchange at Penasquitos, and hundreds of volunteers arrived at the event with light bulbs in hand. Volunteers were pleased with the simultaneous light bulb exchange as it allowed them to further demonstrate their commitment to the environment by trading in their incandescent bulbs for new energy-efficient CFLs.

"As a company committed to the environment, Sempra Energy is pleased to continue to grow our relationship with I Love A Clean San Diego in support of community clean-up events like Creek to Bay," said Javade Chaudhri, Executive Vice President, General Counsel and Chief Environmental Officer for Sempra Energy. "It's important that we all continue to do our part to make our community a safer, greener place for all of us to work and live."

The event included fun activities and giveaways at different site locations around the county. There were “weigh-in-to-win” contests to see who could collect the most debris as well as the “most unique item” competitions. Contest winners received tickets to SeaWorld, passes to Birch Aquarium, and dining coupons from McCormick & Schmick’s. A dynamic volunteer at Oceanside Pier reflected on today’s cleanup: “Thank you for allowing my team the opportunity to give back to our community by participating in the Creek to Bay Cleanup! We all had a great time and left with a feeling of pride.” These sentiments illustrate the sense of accomplishment felt by thousands of San Diegans after volunteering today.

Today’s event was part of a larger cleanup effort, as millions have rallied together throughout the nation to do some “spring cleaning” as part of the Great American Cleanup. Over 30,000 community improvement activities have been planned from March 1 – May 31, with goals to help produce a cleaner, greener America.

Thanks are due to all of this year’s Creek to Bay sponsors who helped make this event such a great success. The 2008 event sponsors include San Diego County Board of Supervisors, Time Warner Cable, KFMB Channel 8’s Earth 8 Campaign, San Diego Bay Watershed Group, the Barona Band of Mission Indians, Sony, Kashi, Stretch Island Fruit Co., SeaWorld, City of San Diego - Think Blue, Sempra Energy, SeaWorld, Ellen Browning Scripps Foundation, Birch Aquarium at Scripps, Omni San Diego, Cubic Transportation Systems, Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati Foundation, McCormick and Schmick’s, City of Poway, City of Escondido, General Dynamics NASSCO, BD Biosciences, Chula Vista Nature Center, Dog Beach Dog Wash, San Diego Maritime Museum, Allied Waste Services, EDCO, KPRI, Dasani, Hewlett Packard, and Keep America Beautiful.

Coordinators look forward to organizing another successful event in 2009, so keep your calendars marked for the last Saturday in April. For more information on I Love A Clean San Diego’s next scheduled cleanups, please visit the website at www.cleansd.org.

Press Release Archives

April 26, 2008 -6th Annual Creek to Bay Cleanup Yields Tons of Trash!

April 16 , 2008 -I Love A Clean San Diego Mobilizes Volunteers for the Upcoming Creek to Bay Cleanup

March 26, 2008 -Volunteers Sought for 6th Annual Creek to Bay Cleanup

August 31, 2007 -Registration Soars As San Diegans Prepare for Nation's Largest Volunteer Event

August 15, 2007 -San Diego County's Largest Volunteer Event One Month Away

April 29, 2007 - 5th Annual Creek to Bay Cleanup Deemed a Success!

April 13, 2007 - Creek to Bay Cleanup Rapidly Approaching

March 23, 2007 - Join I Love A Clean San Diego for its 5th Annual Creek to Bay Cleanup