Ramonans Prepare for Cleanup Day Along Santa Maria Creek

I Love a Clean San Diego will sponsor the Creek to Bay event again this year and groups will gather to clean up the waterways of San Diego county.

The Santa Maria Creek runs through Ramona and down the hill and is one of our main watersheds. Every year Ramona Trails Association hosts a cleanup effort from Ramona Community Park to 13th Street, and hosts a cleanup effort from 13th Street to Rotanzi Street or as far as they have time to go.

I Love a Clean San Diego is a nonprofit educational group that was founded as the San Diego War Against Litter Committee in 1954.  In the 1970s, "I Love a Clean San Diego" was the slogan for the organization's anti-litter campaign, and in 1980 it became the organization's name. In 1989, the group merged with the San Diego Ecology Center. 

At the 2010 Creek to Bay cleanup, 5,232 volunteers fanned out across 69 coastal and inland cleanup sites, removing 160,000 pounds of debris. The effort helped to prevent trash in creeks, streams and storm drains from moving downstream and contaminating our bays and beaches. 

Last year, Ramona Trails Association (RTA) removed 1.5 tons of trash. In 2009 RTA removed 3.2 tons. One year, 16 tons of trash were removed from the Santa Maria Creek during the one day cleanup. Couches, pool slides, bicycles and other debris are illegally dumped in the creek. Plastic bags and baggies, like the sandwich baggies, are the most common trash removed from the creek each year. Recently, there were two couches, dumped and sitting in the water. RTA removed them.

Volunteers are needed for both cleanup sites in Ramona on April 30. To sign up, go to the Creek to Bay website page. Helpers can work at these two locations:

Ramona Community Park, 434 Aqua Lane

Meet at Ramona Community Park Staging Area. The check-in and instructions for this project begin at 8:30 a.m.

Ramona Disposal Trash Transfer Station at 324 Maple St.

Meet in front. Volunteers will be cleaning the creek area across the street.  

Question: What do I need to bring to the cleanup events? 

Answer: I Love a Clean San Diego will provide all necessary supplies, such as  bags, gloves and trash grabbers. Wear closed-toe shoes and a sunhat, bring sunscreen and water. If you have gloves, a trash grabber or other tools that may be of help, please bring them with you. If you are willing to haul the collected trash, please bring your pickup truck. We appreciate a smile and a great willingness to help our environment. 

Ramona Disposal Service provides dump and waste collection at no cost for this cleanup of the Santa Maria Creek and recycles everything that’s recyclable.

 I Love a Clean San Diego focuses on San Diego County's unincorporated areas. The group offers a recycling and household hazardous waste hotline and website. They provide educational programs about watershed pollution, recycling and safe disposal of medical needles. They also conduct used oil filter exchange campaigns at certified used oil collection centers.