Cleanups To Date

Join Pitch In, Waste Free Santa Cruz and others...
Take the Plastic Free July Pledge

Start by bringing your own cup! Avoid Plastic Bottles, Stop using plastic food wrap.

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Mark your Calendar for May 9th, 2026 for the Third Annual Pitch In All County Cleanup Day. Working together We Can Make Santa Cruz the Cleanest County in the State.

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

Upcoming Cleanups

  • “Dirtiest Beach Day” — July 5th Cleanup
    The day after the Fourth of July has earned the nickname “the dirtiest beach day of the year”. Join Surfrider Volunteers!
    • Date: Saturday, July 5th
    • Time: 9:00 – 11:00 AM
    • Location: Main Beach (near the volleyball courts)
    • Click here to sign up now
  • Join Save Our Shores cleanups
    • Holiday Cleanup @ Cowell & Main Beach (July 5 @ 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.
      • Facilities & Accessibility: Restrooms and drinking fountains are available onsite. Metered parking is limited, so please plan accordingly.
    • Holiday Cleanup @ Corcoran Lagoon Beach (July 5 @ 9:00 am - 11:00 am)
      Corcoran Lagoon Beach 20th Ave, Santa Cruz, CA
      • Registration is required
      • Meet Up Location: Please meet us at the end of 20th Ave near the top of the stairs to the beach.
      • Facilities & Accessibility: There are no restrooms available, and no drinking fountains on site. Parking is limited, so please plan accordingly. Please note this location is not wheelchair accessible, there are stairs and large rocks down to the beach.
  • Join Coastal Watershed Council!
    • River Health Day (July 12 @ 10:00 am - 12:00 pm)
      Generally, we will meet on the east riverbank between the Laurel Street bridge and the Branciforte Creek pedestrian bridge. Sometimes we will meet near Mike Fox Skate Park. Free parking is available in the CWC parking lot at 107 Dakota Ave. Paid parking is also available on Dakota Avenue or across the river in downtown Santa Cruz. The closest parking garage is at 601 Front Street. Please RSVP below to receive up-to-date location information. Call (831) 464 9200 x104, or email CWC River Ecologist Kaiya Giuliano-Monroy with any questions before the event. RSVP for this and other River Health Day events!
    • San Lorenzo Park Neighbors (September 13 @ 10:30 am - 12:00 pm)
      Meet at the duck pond at 10:30 am to join in!
      Join the San Lorenzo Park Neighbors and the Santa Cruz Parks & Recreation Department for a morning of volunteer service to beautify San Lorenzo Park, followed by a concert! Make a difference by picking up trash in the park, and help with special projects that may include painting, sanding benches, planting, weeding, raking, and or pruning. Tools will be provided for volunteers, as well as water and coffee. Meet at the duck pond at 10:30 am to join in! Email us with questions at sanlorenzoparkneighbors@gmail.com.
  • Join Grant Park Neighbors for community cleanups and fun!
    • Saturday, August 23, 2025
    • Saturday, September 20, 2025
    • Saturday, October 11, 2025
    • For more information, please visit grantparkneighbors.org

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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