The Adopt-A-Beach Program

The Adopt-A-Beach Program is a statewide educational program coordinated by the Coastal Commission. In County, this program is locally managed by I Love A Clean San Diego (ILACSD). To “adopt” a beach, volunteers agree to clean their beach at least three times over one year (school groups need only to commit to one cleanup). This program provides a unique opportunity for volunteers of all ages to be part of the solution to marine pollution.

It’s as easy as 1, 2, 3…

Check out the attached list of local beaches you can adopt. ILACSD will help you determine days and times for your cleanups, provide you with supplies and help arrange for trash and recycling pick-up.

Recruit friends, co-workers, classmates and rela- tives to get involved in your beach cleanup. The more people you have cleaning, the more debris you can remove from the beach, saving animals from becoming entangled or injured.

Clean your beach! Wear comfortable clothes that you don’t mind getting dirty, a hat, sunscreen and closed-toe shoes. Pick up trash & recyclables (e.g. bottles, cans, clean paper). And most importantly, have fun! The Adopt-A-Beach Program

By adopting a beach, you will...

Reduce ocean pollution

Protect marine life

Have fun & make a difference

Want to learn more?

I Love A Clean San Diego offers free presentations to groups adopting a beach. If your group is interested in learning more about your impact on the marine environment, please contact the ILACSD Volunteer Coordinator at (619) 291-0103 ext. 3003 or [email protected] for more details. Presentation topics include:

The beach as one part of a watershed

Food chains in the marine ecosystem

Human impact on the environment

How to be a solution to marine pollution The Adopt-A-Beach Program

How to sign-up: 1. Fill out the attached Adopt-A-Beach application and agreement (both sides).

2. Contact the ILACSD Volunteer Coordinator at (619) 291-0103 ext. 3003 or [email protected] to schedule your cleanups and reserve supplies.

3. Mail the application & agreement to: I Love A Clean San Diego 4891 Pacific Highway, Suite 115 San Diego, CA 92110

4. Make copies of the waiver form and have members of your group sign the waiver before your cleanup. All participants must fill out a waiver (those under 18 must have a parent/guardian signature). Mail waivers to the office of I Love A Clean San Diego.

Sign Recognition Program

Through this pilot program, I Love A Clean San Diego will place 30 adopter recognition signs at participating beaches throughout San Diego County. If you or your group is interested in adopting a participating beach and having your name placed on the sign, please contact the ILACSD Volunteer Coordinator at (619) 291-0103 ext. 3003 or [email protected] for more details.

* Locations of signs are limited to participating sites *

* Recognition signs are awarded on a first come, first served basis *

* Ask about sponsorship opportunities * Adoptable Beaches

San Onofre State Beach Pacific Beach - Crystal Pier Oceanside City Beach - South Jetty Mission Beach - North Mission Beach Park Oceanside City Beach - Pier Mission Beach - Belmont Park Oceanside City Beach - Buccaneer Beach Park Mission Beach - South Mission Beach Park Oceanside City Beach - Saint Malo Beach Mission Bay - Hospitality Point Mission Bay - Bonita Cove South Carlsbad State Beach Mission Bay - Ventura Cove Encinitas - Grandview Mission Bay - Santa Barbara Cove Encinitas - Beacon’s/ Mission Bay - San Juan Cove Encinitas - Stone Steps Mission Bay - Santa Clara Point Encinitas - Seaside Gardens Park Mission Bay - Crown Point Shores Encinitas - Moonlight State Beach Mission Bay - Sail Bay Encinitas - Swami’s Beach Mission Bay - De Anza Cove Mission Bay - East Mission Bay Park Mission Bay - Fiesta Island Solana Beach - Tide Beach Park Mission Bay - South Shores Solana Beach - Fletcher Cove Beach Park Mission Bay - Ski Beach Solana Beach - North Seascape Surf Beach Ocean Beach - Dog Beach Solana Beach - Del Mar Shores Beach Park Ocean Beach - Pier Del Mar City Beach - North Ocean Beach - Pescadero Beach Del Mar City Beach - Powerhouse Park Ocean Beach - Sunset Cliffs Park Del Mar City Beach - South Ocean Beach - Newbreak Beach San Diego Bay - Shelter Island Torrey Pines City Beach/Black’s Beach San Diego Bay - Spanish Landing/Harbor Island - La Jolla Shores San Diego Bay - Embardacero Marina Park La Jolla - La Jolla Cove Coronado - Tidelands Park La Jolla - South Casa Beach Coronado - Glorietta Bay La Jolla - Whispering Sands Beach Coronado - Coronado City Beach La Jolla - Marine Street Beach Coronado - Silver Strand State Beach La Jolla - Windansea National City - Pepper Park Pacific Beach - Tourmaline Chula Vista - Bayside Park Pacific Beach - Palisades Park Chula Vista - Bayfront Park/Marina View Park The Adopt-A-Beach Program Application

Beach information Name of beach we would like to adopt:______

Cleanup information 1st date: ______time: ______2nd date: ______time: ______3rd date: ______time: ______

Is your group interested in receiving an educational presentation? Yes No

Estimated number of volunteers Children: ______Adults: ______

Contact information Group name: ______Contact person: ______Address: ______City: ______Zip: ______Telephone number (work): ______(home): ______Fax number: ______E-mail: ______

Please mail to: I Love A Clean San Diego Attn: Adopt-A-Beach 4891 Pacific Highway, Suite 115 San Diego, CA 92110 The Adopt-A-Beach Program Agreement

Whereas, ______(Group Name) and the California Adopt-A-Beach Program recognize the need and the desirability of litter-free beaches; and Whereas, the California Adopt-A-Beach Program recognizes our group as an adopting school or organization for ______, and (Adopted Beach) Whereas, our group recognizes the potentially hazardous nature of beach cleanup activities, and desires to protect the health and safety of the cleanup participants; Now, therefore, our group agrees to inform cleanup participants of safe methods to use in carrying out beach cleaning activities; and Further, ______(Group Name) agrees to indemnify and hold harmless, the State of California, the California Coastal Commission, the California State Parks, the California State Parks Foundation, all other organizers or sponsors or property owners involved in the Adopt-A-Beach Program, and any of their respective employees, officers, agents, or assigns (hereafter collectively referred to as “Released Parties”) from any claim of liability for personal injury, property damage, or wrongful death, arising out of, or connected with the group’s participation in Adopt-A-Beach activities, however caused, including but not limited to the negligence of the released parties, whether passive or active. Further, our group is aware that during the scheduled beach cleanups, volunteers from outside our groups may be assigned to our group’s section of beach, and Further, our group accepts the responsibility of caring for the beach and promoting awareness in our community of the problems caused by marine debris and the need for protecting coastal and ocean resources for a period of one year, beginning ______, 20______, with cleanups scheduled on the following dates:

1st______2nd______3rd______

Signed,

______Date______(Group Leader/School Official) The Adopt-A-Beach Program Group Leader’s Checklist

Prior to the event: 1) Pick up cleanup supplies from the ILACSD. Supplies include: trash bags recycle bags gloves 2) Distribute the individual liability waivers to all who will be participating.

Day of the event: 1) Distribute liability waivers to volunteers who have not already signed them. Every volunteer must sign a waiver. Be sure to collect all the waivers. 2) Thank everone for participating and explain the importance of a beach cleanup and their volunteer efforts. 3) Review safety/cleanup rules with volunteers: - Children should be supervised by adults at all times. - Do not pick up needles, syringes, broken glass, or other hazardous items. Alert a lifeguard/ranger of their location. - Do not touch injured or dead animals. - Do not turn your back on the ocean, street, or other hazards. - Make sure fire pits are cold before touching. - Driftwood, shells and seaweed are not trash. Please leave them on the beach. - Recycle aluminum and tin cans, unbroken glass bottles, plastic beverage containers, and clean paper. - Have fun! 4) Divide the group into teams of two or three, with one trash bag and one recycle bag per group and one glove per person. 5) Assign a time and place for everyone to meet when the cleanup is finished.

After the event: 1) Deposit trash in dumpsters and recycling in bins if available on-site, or as instructed by ILACSD or park rangers. You may need to take your recyclables to a nearby recycling center or home to be put out for your curbside collection. 2) As soon as possible, provide ILACSD with all collected waivers and data on the beach cleanup: the number of volunteers, hours spent cleaning, and pounds of trash and recyclables collected (1 full bag = approx. 10 lbs.). The Adopt-A-Beach Program Individual’s Checklist

What to wear and bring to a beach cleanup:

Clothing Sturdy, closed-toe shoes Hat Sweater or jacket

Miscellaneous Water Food Sunscreen Sunglasses

Be prepared outdoors! Some helpful reminders:

Your beach cleanup will be a lot more fun if you are prepared and appropriately dressed. It is important to remember that it will always be colder along the water, so bring additional warm clothes.

Here are a few other things to remember:

- Wear gloves and sturdy shoes when doing a cleanup. Glass and other debris can be sharp.

- Drink plenty of water throughout the day to stay hydrated.

- Remember to apply sunscreen frequently. Pollution Fact Sheet Did you know? 14 billion pounds of garbage are dumped into the ocean every year. That is more than 1.5 million pounds per hour!

* Natural resources are limited and must be used wisely. Conserving resources both reduces pollution and insures that those resources will be available for future generations. We can conserve by reducing the waste we produce, using reusable items rather than disposable ones, and recycling everything possible.

* Human pollution, especially plastics and oil, may harm or kill beach organisms. Pollution also makes using the beach less enjoyable for people.

* The beach is a productive home for a great diversity of plants and animals. Humans use the beach in many ways and must learn to share this habitat with other living things.

Dangers of marine debris

Marine debris is more than an unsightly inconvenience for beach-goers and boaters; it can harm and even kill marine wildlife. By the simple process of moving from ship to sea, storm drain to surf, or hand to sand, items such as metals, paper, glass, and plastics become marine debris. Common items like six-pack rings and fishing line entangle and kill sea birds, fish and mammals. Animals also mistake litter, such as plastics, for food. Some birds even feed it to their young. With trash filling their stomachs, animals may die of starvation or poisoning.

People, especially children, can cut themselves on broken bottles and sharp metal left on the beach. Plastic rope and line become entangled in boat propellers, and plastic bags and sheeting clog seawater intakes and evaporators causing engine failure and costly repairs.

You can help!

Recycle – By instilling the simple message that the proper place for a can or bottle is in the recycling bin and not on our beaches, parks and streets, we point the way to solving the bigger problems we face. (Call 1-800-237-BLUE for recycling information.)

Adopt-A-Beach – Everyone can make a difference in protecting the marine environment. So get out there…make the difference…clean your beach! Pollution Fact Sheet

Cigarette Litter

At nearly every beach cleanup, cigarette related litter (i.e. cigarette butts, packaging materials, etc.) turns up as the most commonly found item, usually accounting for 40-50% of the total number of debris items.

Cigarettes are the most littered item in the United States. It is estimated that Americans toss out more than 175 million pounds of cigarette butts every year. San Diego County smokers consume an estimated 1.8 billion cigarettes year each, leaving 1.8 billion cigarette butts to be disposed of. Clearly not all of those butts are ending up in an ashtray or trash can. Not only is cigarette litter a fire hazard, but it also poses a serious threat to the health of our environment. Cigarette butts tossed onto streets and sidewalks make their way into the storm drain system, which carries them out to our local rivers, lakes, lagoons, bays, and ultimately to the ocean. When cigarettes hit water, the toxic chemicals contained in the filters leak out, lowering the water quality and threatening the health of wildlife. Cigarette filters are made of a type of plastic called cellulose acetate, which is very slow to degrade in the environment. Cigarette butts may seem small, but with an estimated 4.5 trillion butts littered worldwide every year, the toxic chemicals add up! We are asking smokers to realize that cigarette butts are a form of litter and pollution and they need to be disposed of properly.

If you see anyone toss a cigarette out of a car window, you can anonymously report violators through the 1-800-NO-SMOKE toll-free number. You will be asked to leave a message including the vehicle’s license plate number, vehicle make and model, the date and time of the violation, and the vehicle’s location (i.e. street/freeway number and direction) when the littering occurred. Other useful information to provide includes whether it was the driver or a passenger who did the littering. Registered owners of the car will be sent warning letters by the California Highway Patrol.

If we all work to cut down on cigarette litter, San Diego County will be much cleaner and our environment will be healthier!

Report drivers who litter their butts at: 1-800-NO-SMOKE The Adopt-A-Beach Program Cleanup Site Totals

As soon as all 3 cleanups have been completed, please complete this form and fax/mail it back to I Love A Clean San Diego. We will collect this data and report it to the California Coastal Commission. Thank you!

I Love A Clean San Diego c/o Adopt-A-Beach Program 4891 Pacific Hwy, Suite 115 San Diego, CA 92110 Fax: 619-298-1314

Name of adopted beach: ______Contact name: ______Street address: ______City, State and Zip code: ______Telephone: ______Email: ______

Cleanup #1 Cleanup #2 Cleanup #3 Date: ______Date: ______Date: ______# of volunteers: ______# of volunteers: ______# of volunteers: ______# of hours: ______# of hours: ______# of hours: ______

Trash Trash Trash # of bags: ______# of bags: ______# of bags: ______Weight (lbs.): ______Weight (lbs.): ______Weight (lbs.): ______

Recyclables Recyclables Recyclables # of bags: ______# of bags: ______# of bags: ______Weight (lbs.): ______Weight (lbs.): ______Weight (lbs.): ______

Strangest item(s) found: ______