Cleanups To Date

Pitch In All-Santa Cruz Cleanup Day will be May 10th, 2025!

Click Here to Learn More

Opportunities to participate will be updated here on a regular basis.

Upcoming Cleanups

  • Boulder Creek Spring Town Sweep
  • Volunteer Center Clean Up (Special Event) @ Pogonip Open Space
    Volunteer to clean up Pogonip removing trash from trails.
    • Time: May 3rd, 2025 @ 9:45am - 12pm (clean up starts at 10am - but please arrive at 9:45 for parking and walking to meeting spot)
    • Meet: Park Entrance at the end of Golf Club Drive (Emma McCrary Trailhead). 501 Golf Club Drive, Santa Cruz CA 95060
    • Please wear hiking boots or sturdy shoes, layers for warm or cold weather and sunscreen. Volunteers will do lots of walking on the trails and some volunteers may use a wheelbarrow to remove larger items.
  • Volunteer Center Clean Up (Monthly) Volunteer to clean up Pogonip removing trash from trails.
    • Time: 10:00 AM - 12:00 PM on the 3rd Wednesday of the month.
      May 21, June 18, July 16, August 20, September 17, October 15
    • Please arrive 15 minutes early to provide time for parking and a short walk to the meeting location.
    • For details and signup, Click Here.
  • Join Save Our Shores cleanups
    • River Cleanup @ San Lorenzo River Levee (April 19 @ 10:00 am - 12:00 pm)
      San Lorenzo River @ River St South 149 River St S, Santa Cruz, CA
      • Registration is required
      • Meet Up Location: Please meet us near the pedestrian bridge on River St South across from the San Lorenzo Park Plaza.
      • Facilities & Accessibility: There are no restrooms or drinking fountains on site. Paid parking lots and metered street parking available nearby, please note River St South is the temporary bus metro and there is limited parking available on this street.
    • Beach Cleanup @ Cowell Beach (April 26 @ 9:00 am - 11:00 am)
      Cowell Beach 21 Municipal Wharf, Santa Cruz, CA
      • Registration is required
      • Meet Up Location: Please meet us at the base of the stairs to Cowell Beach, on the right side of the wharf entrance.
      • Facilities & Accessibility: Restrooms and drinking fountains are available onsite. Metered lot and street parking may be limited, please plan accordingly.
    • Beach Cleanup @ Cowell Beach (May 10, 2025 @ 9:00 am - 11:00 am)
      Cowell Beach 21 Municipal Wharf, Santa Cruz, CA
      • Registration is required
      • Meet Up Location: Please meet us at the base of the stairs to Cowell Beach, on the right side of the wharf entrance.
      • Facilities & Accessibility: There are no restrooms available, and no drinking fountains on site. Parking is limited, so please plan accordingly.
  • Join Coastal Watershed Council!
    A fun, family friendly way to help clean and protect our San Lorenzo River.
    This applies to all River Walk Cleanups:
    Generally, we will meet on the east riverbank between the Laurel Street bridge and the Branciforte Creek pedestrian bridge. Please RSVP below to receive up-to-date location information. We recommend that all volunteers dress in comfortable gardening clothes, including long pants, socks and sturdy closed-toe shoes. Bring layers, sun protection and a reusable water bottle. Gloves, tools and light refreshments will be provided.
    All ages and abilities welcome. Volunteers under the age of 18 must be accompanied by an adult.
    Call (831) 464 9200 x104, or email CWC River Ecologist Kaiya Giuliano-Monroy with any questions before the event. RSVP
    • April 19 @ 9:00 am - 11:00 am
      Earth Day Cleanup at the Tannery Arts Center
      Tannery Arts Center 1010 River St, Santa Cruz, CA, United States
    • April 26 @ 11:00 am - 3:00 pm
      San Lorenzo Park Neighbors Second Annual Day in the Park
      San Lorenzo Park 137 Dakota St, Santa Cruz, CA, United States
    • May 10 10:00 am - 12:00 pm
      Pitch In All-Santa Cruz Cleanup Day 2025
      River Health Day
    • June 14 @ 10:00 am - 12:00 pm
      River Health Day
      Santa Cruz Riverwalk
    • July 12 @ 10:00 am - 12:00 pm
      River Health Day
      Santa Cruz Riverwalk
    • September 13 @ 10:30 am - 12:00 pm
      Volunteer to Beautify San Lorenzo Park
      San Lorenzo Park 137 Dakota St, Santa Cruz, CA, United States

Cleanups Accomplished

September Cleanup of Fish and Wildlife Preserve - South County Sloughs

September, 2022

The Fish and Wildlife Preserve, part of the network of sloughs in south county, is a highly sensitive environmental area according to Jonathan Pilch executive director of Watsonville Wetlands Watch. Home to a myriad of both residential and migrating birds, river otters, amphibians, fish, and native plants, these areas are the natural jewels of the Pajaro Valley. Rich with life and beauty, the sloughs are a beacon for birders, recreational walkers, families, and artists who visit the area to observe these natural wonders.

However, over the last few years, illegal encampments have polluted these easily damaged habitats. The sloughs are not meant for human habitation, yet the encampment which was removed in September 2022 through the collaboration facilitated by the Trash Talkers including Fish and Wildlife, City of Watsonville and CalTrans, had been entrenched for a long time. "To see it removed was a huge accomplishment," said John Moreno of the City of Watsonville.

The September encampment cleanup of the Fish and Wildlife Preserve resulted in two - thirty yard dumpsters, Two – eight yard containers of trash, and an additional eight yard container, plus a long bed pickup truck of metal debris.

South county residents and visitors want the sloughs protected for the wildlife that inhabit them. Fish and Wildlife will be working with their biologists over the coming months to work on plans for remediation of the natural landscape.

In addition, Fish and Wildlife will be providing regular patrols to ensure that encampments will not be reestablished due to the significant damage they pose to these threatened environs. City of Watsonville under the direction of Wetland Watch, will be limbing up trees and CalTrans is reestablishing fencing (some 150 yard of new fencing has been already put in). Caltrans will also be sloping areas to make human access more difficult in wildlife areas and installing no trespassing signs. The Watsonville Police Department will participate in enforcement.

These are the types of collaborations that the Trash Talkers have facilitated through their efforts to bring agencies together to address litter in Santa Cruz County.

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Members of Fish and Wildlife and City of Watsonville work in cooperation to remove illegal encampment in slough.
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Makeshift structure is filled with garbage, human feces, and illegal drug paraphernalia.
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Encampment area along the fragile banks of the preserve.
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Discarded needles and other debris endangers animals.
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Illegal Structures are cleared away from slough.
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In addition to pallets and mattresses, dangerous propane bottles which could cause irreparable damage due to fire are hauled away.
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After significant effort, one of the illegal camping areas is returned to it rightful owner: nature.
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Fish and Wildlife staff and wardens prepare to remove encampment refuse.
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