This post was contributed by a community member. The views expressed here are the author's own.

Community Corner

Peninsula Converges in Half Moon Bay for Coastal Cleanup Day

Strong turnout for 27th annual cleanup.

On Saturday morning, volunteers from all over the Peninsula converged along the Half Moon Bay Coastside to collect trash and recyclables for the 27th Annual California Coastal Cleanup Day.

“It’s our responsibility,” said Half Moon Bay resident Suzie Castle. “We may not have individually littered, but we as a society have.”

Organized by the San Mateo Countywide Water Pollution Prevention Program and the California Coastal Commission, the event was held at ten locations from Montara to San Gregorio.

Find out what's happening in Half Moon Baywith free, real-time updates from Patch.

“I’ve participated in coastal cleanups ever since I knew they existed,” said Half Moon Bay resident Joseph Carr Ritchie, who has also worked as a ranger for several years. “It makes you a lot less bitter about finding trash when you can look at all we’ve accomplished.”

“The people who come [to Coastal Cleanup Day] inspire us to continue to care,” added Ritchie’s fiancée Ellie Anderson.

Find out what's happening in Half Moon Baywith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Cleanup crews met at locations which included Montara State Beach, Mirada Surf West in El Granada and Francis State Beach, Poplar State Beach, Purisima Creek Redwoods Open Space Preserve and Pilarcitos Creek in Half Moon Bay. Along the South Coast, volunteers met at Pescadero State Beach, Gazos State Beach and San Gregorio State Beach.

At the Mirada Surf West cleanup in El Granada, over 75 volunteers came to pitch in for the cleanup before 11 a.m.

“The best part is knowing that people came from near and far to help out,” said Sarah Lenz, park ranger for San Mateo County Parks.

A cleanup was also done at Mirada Surf West, Surfer’s Beach and the harbor.

“Animals could get sick,” said Belmont resident Danna Chavez in regards to what could happen if trash was allowed to stay on the beach.

“I wanted to cleanup the beach and help the seagulls,” said Half Moon Bay resident Dayna Estle. Estle cheers with the Pop Warner’s Youth Cheerleading Squad alongside Chavez.

“I wanted to help the community,” added fellow cheerleader Madison Claudius, a Montara resident.

The Friends of Fitzgerald Marine Reserve sponsored the cleanup at Mirada Surf West.

“It’s a lot of fun to see how jazzed the volunteers get about giving something back,” said Montara resident Jenna Kinghorn, who has been a volunteer with Fitzgerald for 15 years and is also on the board of the Friends of Fitzgerald Marine Reserve. “It raises awareness—a lot of people don’t realize that (garbage) is really toxic to the animals.”

“It motivates me to know I’m saving critters,” she added.

This year, the Coastal Cleanup Day added an inland location in Half Moon Bay at Pilarcitos Creek. It was the first time an inland location in the area was designated as an official cleanup site.

“Everything you see here will go into the creek and then the ocean,” said Jo Chamberlain, Executive Director of the .

Chamberlain's group sponsored the Pilarcitos location. Twenty volunteers came out to help at the creek.

Chamberlain said that having a cleanup at an upstream location like Pilarcitos Creek was a way to prevent more litter that eventually ended up on the beaches.

This is the first year the Coastside Land Trust participated in Coastal Cleanup Day.

“I’m thrilled that we have enough volunteers to do inland,” said Lindsey Peterson, Coastside Land Trust office manager.

The main focus of the day was .

 “Not only are they unsightly, but they like pesticide bombs that kill the animals that eat them,” said Chamberlain.

“Most people don’t litter on purpose so it’s mostly accidental,” said Peterson, who has worked at the Coastside Land Trust for two years.

"I think people have a mindset that makes them think its okay to drop a cigarette and step on it," said Chamberlain.

“Plus it’s that ‘ick’ factor—many people don’t like to pick them up,” she added.

Other cleanup sites in Half Moon Bay included the outer edges of Carter Park, Stone Pine Shopping Center, Redondo Beach Road and the Main Street shopping area.

“I grew up by the ocean, so the Pacific is pretty important to me,” said Oakland resident Allan Anderson. “It’s a public space and it’s nice if we can pitch in as part of the public.”

“It’s important to keep the environment clean plus it's better than sitting at home watching cartoons,” said Burlingame resident Robert Bruening, who brought his two sons Xavier and Louis with him to volunteer. “We are knee deep in trash and every contribution helps.”

Last year more than 4,200 San Mateo County volunteers picked up over 42,000 pounds of trash and recyclables.

At the time of publication, the total number of volunteers or weight of items collected during Saturday's cleanup had not been released.

To receive news feeds about Half Moon Bay and the unincorporated Coastside between Montara and Pescadero, visit Half Moon Bay Patch on Facebook and "like" us here. Follow us on Twitter here.

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here

The views expressed in this post are the author's own. Want to post on Patch?