Every one of these is on the map, with the area it covers and the problems it helps with. Always go through the organizations listed: near the border and in Tijuana's canyons, local partners know the sites, the land ownership and the community.
Anything marked not organized yet is something that would help rather than something you can turn up to today. Working out permissions, land ownership, habitat timing and safety comes first. Sign up to hear when those are running.
Beach cleanups in Imperial Beach
Hands-on cleanup. Layer 1: At the coast. Imperial Beach shoreline
Year-round, avoiding days after spills.
Removes debris washed ashore. Less direct help to infrastructure than upstream work, but a good way to build a volunteer base.
How to get involved: Surfrider San Diego and other groups run regular cleanups.
Safety: Stay out of the water; check beach status first.
Help tally what the trash boom catches
Collect data. Layer 2: At the border. The trash boom, just north of the border
After storms, once crews have pulled debris.
Sorting and counting captured debris by type and brand shows where it comes from, which points upstream cleanups at the right canyons.
How to get involved: Ask the boom’s operators, Alter Terra and the Rural Community Assistance Corporation, whether they use volunteer sorting or tally days.
Safety: Captured debris is contaminated. Follow the operator’s safety rules.
Pre-storm sweep near the border
Hands-on cleanup. Layer 2: At the border. Regional park near Dairy Mart Road, just downstream of the trash boom
September and October, before the first rain.
Not organized yet.This is an idea at this stage, not a scheduled cleanup. We are working out how to run these safely and with the right permissions, and will announce dates here when we do. Get told when it is.
Debris that slips past the boom or washes onto the banks here is the first to move in the next storm. Clearing it keeps it out of the valley and the estuary.
How to get involved: Coordinate with County Parks. Near the border, confirm which land is county-managed; the strip at the border fence is federal and closed.
Safety: Dry ground only. Check air quality alerts for hydrogen sulfide before going.
Pre-storm sweep in the river valley
Hands-on cleanup. Layer 2: At the border. Tijuana River Valley Regional Park, from the Monument Road trailhead
Best window: September and October, before the first rain. Again in late spring.
Not organized yet.This is an idea at this stage, not a scheduled cleanup. We are working out how to run these safely and with the right permissions, and will announce dates here when we do. Get told when it is.
Clear plastics and light debris from dry banks and terraces so the next storm cannot carry them into the Saturn Boulevard culverts and the estuary. GPS-tag tires, appliances, and mattresses so county crews can remove them.
How to get involved: Coordinate with County Parks for permission, habitat timing, and bag pickup. The Tijuana River estuary reserve also runs volunteer cleanups.
Safety: Dry ground only, away from the channel and standing water. Gloves, grabbers, closed shoes. Skip days after storms or spills.
Source cleanups in Camino Verde
Hands-on cleanup. Layer 3: In Tijuana's system. Tijuana. Drains toward the main river channel. Location on this map is approximate.
Dry season.
Trash from here travels down the river to PB-CILA and the trash boom. Less trash means fewer pump shutdowns.
How to get involved: WILDCOAST announced plans in 2023 for a trash boom in Camino Verde, but its second boom went to Matadero Canyon instead. Ask WILDCOAST whether Camino Verde work is active and how volunteers or donors can help.
Safety: Go only with local partners.
Map dumpsites with local partners
Collect data. Layer 3: In Tijuana's system. Tijuana canyons that drain to the border
Any time in the dry season.
After a trash-tracking study in Los Laureles Canyon, Tijuana removed 171 dumpsites in 2011. An updated inventory gives officials and funders a target list.
How to get involved: Offer help to WILDCOAST, Alter Terra, or researchers at SDSU or El Colegio de la Frontera Norte. GPS photos from a phone are enough.
Safety: Go only with local partners.
Source cleanups in Los Laureles Canyon
Hands-on cleanup. Layer 3: In Tijuana's system. Tijuana. The canyon drains into the Goat Canyon collector.
Dry season, ahead of the rains.
Dumpsites around neighborhoods like San Bernardo and El Mirador feed trash and sediment straight to the border. Removing it here protects the collector downstream.
How to get involved: Work through WILDCOAST, which runs a paid resident collection program in the canyon. Join binational cleanup days or help fund local collectors. Don’t organize independently: local partners know the sites and the community.
Safety: Go only with local partners.
Source cleanups in Matadero Canyon
Hands-on cleanup. Layer 3: In Tijuana's system. Tijuana. Drains to the Smuggler's Gulch collector.
Dry season.
Trash and sediment from Matadero Canyon clog the Smuggler's Gulch collector. Mexico just finished a sediment basin here; keeping trash out of it keeps it working.
How to get involved: WILDCOAST has run a trash boom in Matadero Canyon since October 2024 and hires residents to collect and sort what it catches. Connect through WILDCOAST or Alter Terra, both of which work in these canyons.
Safety: Go only with local partners.