Cleanups To Date

40th Annual Coastal Clean-Up Day was a HUGE Success!

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

Upcoming Cleanups

  • October 24 (9:00 a.m. - 11:00 a.m.)
    Join us for a community cleanup along Paulsen Road!
    • Meet: New Santa Cruz County Park Land, 188 Whiting Road, Watsonville.
    • Everyone is invited to come out and help clean up!
    • Volunteer liability waivers will need to be signed.
  • October 26 (9:00 a.m. - 11:00 a.m.)
    Join Save Our Shores for a beach cleanup at Sunny Cove Beach!
    Sunny Cove Beach Johan’s Beach Dr, Santa Cruz, CA, United States
    • Registration is required. Register here.
    • Meet up at the end of Johan’s.
  • Coastal Watershed Council
  • Join us for Community Cleanups in the Pajaro Valley!

    Stay tuned for the release of the location community Service hours are given!

    • October 24, 2024
    • November 21, 2024
  • Every Monday Main Beach Cleanup in front of Board Walk at 8:00AM (join us!)

    "We really need the community to step up and help clean Main Beach, especially after Memorial Day. Today we found two dead sea birds, a dead sea otter pup along with what we regularly pick up, numerous cans, food packaging waste and cigarette butts."
    - citizen activist Donna Maurillo

Cleanups Accomplished

Murphy's Crossing Cleanup

July 29, 2022

On a sunny summer day, when kids could be surfing, or hanging out with friends, students from the Climate Corp Leadership Institute’s summer youth program volunteered to clean up one of the most notorious illegal dump sites in south County, Murphy’s Crossing. The volume of garbage left downstream from people living in or driving through the dry river corridor was disheartening at best, disgusting in measure.

There are migrating steelhead in the Pajaro River, as well as a broad diversity of other wildlife. The health of this vital corridor is being compromised by human negligence and debris. The student volunteer group coordinated by Wetlands Watch were joined by members of the community, Ramon Gomez from the 4th district, Filipe Hernandez, of the American Legion, Dick Solano from the Santa Cruz County Sheriff’s office and the Community action Board of Santa Cruz County. Santa Cruz Public Works managed traffic. Justin Scurich, a partner of Creekside Farms, provided bathrooms and water. County superintendent Alexander was very helpful organizing a crew and trucks for heavier materials. Murphy’s Crossing will be monitored in the future.

In total 560 cubic feet of garbage and 2.5 truckloads of mattresses, plastic crates, tires, bottles, and trash were removed from the roadway and the river, helping to protect the sensitive natural habitat of the Pajaro River corridor.

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Climate Corp Leadership Student Volunteers clean up trash at Murphy’s Crossing.
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Murphy’s Crossing River Bed.
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Trash Talkers Cleanup of Murphy’s Crossing – Special Thanks to Ramon Gomez, Filipe Hernandez, and Wetlands Watch for coordination.
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