Dear Watershed Stewards,
Thank you to all who came out to the 32nd Annual Coastal Cleanup Day last Saturday, and for participating in the largest volunteer event in the world! With the help of 2,300 volunteers across Contra Costa County, we collected 16,000 pounds of trash along our shoreline. At Shimada Friendship Park alone, 400 volunteers collected over 1,400 pounds of trash and recyclables. At Albany Bulb and Beach, 386 volunteers collected 1,376 pounds of trash and 105 pounds of recyclables. We found unusual items at all sites including a survival kit in a bottle, an old trunk, a headless statue, an old geocache, a message in a bottle from a seventh grader, and more!
These efforts help to reduce pollution in our watersheds, reduce the amount of marine debris that will get swept out to sea, and contribute to an international citizen science database that informs policymakers and scientists. None of this would be possible without the efforts of incredible volunteers such as you.
We were thrilled to co-host Shimada Friendship Park’s cleanup event with Supervisor John Gioia, who has been organizing Coastal Cleanup Day events for 26 years. A special shout-out to our Marsh Monitor volunteers who helped protect endangered Ridgway Rail and Salt Marsh Harvest Mouse habitat during the cleanup, and to our Flotsam Flotilla team and Rivers for Change leading the kayaking cleanup. And a special thank you to Sunrise Bistro and Diablo Valley Culinary Program students who prepared our delicious healthy lunch.
We would also like to thank our sponsors: Wareham Development, California Coastal Commission, Contra Costa County, City of Richmond, Mechanics Bank, Kaiser Permanente, and UC Berkeley Global Campus. We also relied on partnerships with the Richmond Park Ranger Police Program, Richmond Sanitation Services, and paramedics teams.
Another big thank you goes to our donors who provided food and prizes to our volunteers: Solano Peet’s Coffee & Tea, Point Richmond Starbucks, Safeway, Richmond Grocery Outlet, San Pablo Raley’s, El Cerrito Natural Grocery Company, Richmond Costco, Acme Bread, Berkeley Noah’s Bagels, LÄRABAR, El Cerrito Trader Joe’s, Berkeley Andronico’s, Excellent Packaging & Supply, The New Parkway Theater, Rialto Cinemas, and Landmark Theatres.
We hope you enjoyed the day as much as we did, and will come out again next year. In the meantime, join us in pledging to reduce our trash output in our everyday lives by reducing single-use disposable items. For more pictures from Coastal Cleanup Day events, visit our Facebook page. And share with us your own photos and experiences from the day!
Thank you,
The Watershed Project Team
Photo Credit to: Martha Berthelsen, Steve Goldfinger, Lauren Woodfill
