Against the backdrop of a high surf advisory and low tide, and despite the remnants of havoc, brought on by the waves earlier this week, our Rockaway cleanup on January 6th was a success. Although the magnitude of the ocean’s power was highlighted by the disappearance of stone benches that normally line the front of the Lighthouse Best Western, volunteers were safe from the waves at our normal location, and the rain held off. We later heard from the owner of the nearby business, Seaweed Holistics that the waves had picked the stone benches up and tossed at least one of them into the parking lot!

Amidst the aftermath, Lynn and Nicole salvaged the standing butt bucket, and we witnessed a nearby child learning the hard way to never take your eyes off the ocean, leaving him drenched and teary-eyed all the way to his car.

We had a great cleanup with about 50 volunteers who picked up an astounding 700 butts, 55 pounds of trash, and 5 pounds of recyclables.  Volunteers also collected some oddities including a reflector from the pavement, a piece of an undercarriage, lots of fishing items, a big float, a nice big fish-shaped fishhook, and a weird bait cage thing from a crab trap. The aftermath of holiday spirit was viscerally experienced as we found chunks of fake holiday trees, packaging from a Masters of the Universe Toy set, and an unusual number of discarded boxes.  The ocean also gifted us with a nice hand-knit beanie, a cute baby sweater with ears (to be washed and donated), and a nice milk crate, which will be repurposed to store cleanup supplies. 

Thank you to our enthusiastic volunteers, and shoutout to the individual who picked up the street reflector (we noticed your delight at your special find!), as well as the child who rescued the milk crate and a family taking their new dog, Taco out for her first beach walk. We are also grateful to our Junior, Kyla, who was a huge help with checking everyone in and getting all of the receipts sorted and counted. 

We appreciate everyone who supports Pacific Beach Coalition’s work and educational programs. Thank you for helping us to protect our beautiful ocean and coastline by donating money, time, or both! Your dollars will go towards our ongoing educational efforts (such as the Naturalists program) and our beach cleanups and habitat restoration efforts along the coastal trail. Thank you so much for any contribution: big or small!