California Coastal Cleanup Day
Join us on Saturday, September 20, from 9 a.m. to noon for the 23rd Annual California Coastal Cleanup Day. Concord volunteers will clean Galindo Creek beginning in Newhall Park at the end of Boxer Boulevard. Boxer Boulevard runs parallel to Clayton Road between Indian Lane and Newhall Parkway. The park is at the end of Boxer Boulevard, one block south of Clayton Road. Click here for map and directions.
The California Coastal Commission estimates that 60 to 80% of all debris in the ocean is made from plastic. Quantities and impacts of plastic debris are significant and increasing. The Algalita Marine Research Foundation’s investigation of plastic in the North Central Gyre of the Pacific Ocean showed that the mass of plastic pieces was six times greater than zooplankton floating on the water’s surface. Nearly 80% of marine debris comes from land-based sources. By picking up debris here, in Concord, we are preventing contamination of our ocean, bay and beaches.
California Coastal Cleanup Day is the premier volunteer event focused on the marine environment in the country. Each year, more than 40,000 volunteers turn out to over 400 cleanup sites statewide to conduct what has been hailed by the Guinness Book of Records as "the largest garbage collection" (1993).
Since the program started in 1985, nearly 700,000 Californians have removed more than 10 million pounds of debris from our state's shorelines and coast. California is part of International Coastal Cleanup, organized by The Ocean Conservancy, which takes place on the same day.
Coastal Cleanup Day is the highlight of the California Coastal Commission's year-round Adopt-A-Beach program. Coastal Cleanup Day kicks-off Coastweeks - three weeks of coastal and water-related events for the whole family.
Coastal Cleanup activities are funded by the California Coastal Commission through the sale Whale Tail License Plates. In 1997, the Commission developed the Whale Tail License Plate as a way for the public to contribute directly to coastal and marine education. The plate, designed by well-known environmental artist Wyland, depicts a gray whale diving into the beautiful blue sea. The Whale Tail License Plate has consistently been among the most popular specialty license plates in California.
Coastal Cleanup Day is a great way for families, students, service groups, and neighbors to join together, protect our fragile marine environment, show community support, learn about the impacts of marine debris, and have fun!
For more information, you can contact (800) COAST-4U or coast4u@coastal.ca.gov or visit http://www.coastal.ca.gov/ publiced/ccd/ccd.html.
