Virtual Stormwater Pollution Prevention Events
December 2021
We all play a part in preventing stormwater pollution. Here are some ways to get involved in December and help protect our local waterways! All events are free unless otherwise indicated.
I Love A Clean San Diego Community Cleanups – Several in-person and remote neighborhood cleanups are being offered in December. Participants can join in one of two ways – in-person at the actual cleanup site, or remotely in their own neighborhoods. Trash will be collected to divert litter from their respective watersheds.
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December 4, 9am to 11am – Wildlife Conservation Day Southcrest Cleanup – Join I Love A Clean San Diego, San Diego Council District 9, and SDG&E for a litter cleanup in Southcrest to celebrate Wildlife Conservation Day! Space is limited. Sign-up by December 1 to be automatically entered to win 1 of 10 branded ILACSD bucket and grabber kits, courtesy of SDG&E! Attend the kick-off at the cleanup site or by Zoom (if remote) at 9am and then collect trash from around the community. Learn more or register.
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December 9, 3pm to 5pm – Sunset Sweep: Manzanita Canyon South Community Cleanup – Join I Love A Clean San Diego, San Diego Canyonlands, and Think Blue for an in-person or remote litter cleanup in Manzanita Canyon community. Attend the kick-off at the cleanup site or by Zoom (if remote) at 3pm and then get out there to beautify your canyon neighborhood and divert trash from traveling to the Pacific Ocean. Learn more or register.
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December 11, 9am to 11am – Watershed Warriors Sweetwater Community Litter Cleanup – Attend the kick-off at the cleanup site or by Zoom (if remote) at 9am and then collect trash from around the Sweetwater community to divert litter from the Sweetwater watershed. Learn more or register.
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December 18, 9am to 11am – Watershed Warriors Casa De Oro Community Cleanup – Attend the kick-off at the cleanup site or by Zoom (if remote) at 9am and then collect trash from around the Casa De Oro community to divert litter from the San Diego Bay watershed. Learn more or register.
San Diego River Park Foundation River Cleanups and Water Quality Monitoring Events – Several river cleanups and water quality monitoring events are being offered in December.
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Saturday River Rescue Cleanups – December 4, 11, and 18, 9am to 12pm – Come out and assist with river cleanups and support a healthy river while interacting with a group of like-minded people! Locations change weekly and will be emailed to you the Wednesday prior to the event. Learn more or register for the December 4th, December 11th, and December 18th events.
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Water Quality Monitoring Events – Come join the RiverWatch team in various locations to see how they monitor the water quality of the San Diego River.
Surfrider San Diego Beach Cleanups and King Tides Days – Join the San Diego chapter of the Surfrider Foundation in its ongoing beach and neighborhood cleanups and King Tides Days event.
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Ongoing – Solo Cleanups – Participate in safe, physically distant ‘solo’ cleanups on your own – at the beach, in your neighborhood, at your local park – or anywhere in your watershed. Learn more about solo cleanup guidelines, how to tally your trash cleanup activity, and how you can make a difference in preventing trash from reaching the beach in the first place.
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December 4 and 5, 8am to 4pm – King Tides Days, San Diego County Beaches – The King Tides are considered the highest tides of the year! Observing the highest tides helps us visualize future sea levels and how they will affect our sandy beaches, surf breaks, and developments and infrastructure along the coast. All concerned beachgoers are encouraged to come out to observe and document both the HIGH & LOW King Tides at their San Diego County beaches on either or both days. Learn more and how to share photo and video footage on December 4th and December 5th.
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December 11, 9am to 11am – Imperial Beach Cleanup – Participate in a beach and street cleanup at/around Imperial Beach and help play an active role in determining the sources of trash on our beaches. Learn more.
Tijuana River National Estuarine Research Reserve – Friday Stewardship Sessions – December 3, 10, 17, 24, and 31, 9am to 12pm – Join stewardship volunteers on Fridays in December in caring for the resources of the Tijuana River National Estuarine Research Reserve by establishing, restoring, and maintaining the native plant gardens and habitat, removing graffiti and litter, and helping to clean up the beaches. Learn more or register for the December 3rd, 10th, 17th, 24th, and 31st events.
San Diego Coastkeeper Six Cleanup Challenge – Form a group and participate in the Six Cleanup Challenge to positively impact communities and outdoor spaces up and down the watershed. Pick up trash from two challenge sites in three categories – coastal, inland, and urban – and receive a certificate of completion and appreciation packet as a prize. Learn more and see list of challenge sites.
WaterSmart Residential Landscape and Irrigation Online Webinars – The San Diego County Water Authority’s WaterSmart Program is providing free webinars on landscape design and irrigation management during the month of December. These classes are sponsored in part by Member Agencies and the County of San Diego.
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December 1, 5:30pm to 8:30pm – Installation & Maintenance: Protecting Your Investment – Learn strategies for success in removing your turf and installing and maintaining your landscaping. Learn more or register.
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8 de Diciembre, 6:00 pm a 8:00 pm - ¿Cuánta agua? Determinar las necesidades de agua de la planta (sesión en español) - Trabaje para obtener su Certificado de paisajista calificado con uso eficiente del agua (QWEL) tomando esta clase. Aprenda un enfoque paso a paso para satisfacer las necesidades de agua de las plantas, incluidos los temas de evapotranspiración, hidrozonas, selección de plantas y principios para desarrollar presupuestos básicos de agua. También califica para las Unidades de Educación Continua (CEU) de CLCA e IA. Obtenga más información o regístrese.
University of California (UC) Integrated Pest Management (IPM) Webinars and Workshops – UC IPM will be holding the following webinars and workshops on pesticide management and safety during December.
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Pesticide Safety Training Webinars – (fee $40) – The Pesticide Safety Education Program (PSEP) is offering pesticide safety webinars eligible for Continuing Education (CE) units for the 2021 calendar year. Learn more or register.
- December 7, 3pm to 4pm – IPM for Schools & Child Care Centers Healthy Schools Act
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Train the Trainer Refresher Zoom Workshops – (fee $300) – This workshop reviews the required annual training topics for fieldworkers and handlers. Does not certify you as a trainer. Registration closes December 8th. Learn more or register.
- December 10, 8am to 11am (English)
- December 10, 12pm to 3pm (Spanish)
Alta Vista Botanical Garden – Kids in the Garden Saturday Classes – Topic: Planting with Succulents – December 11, 10am to 12pm – (garden entry fee $5 for non-members) – Kids and their families are invited to Saturday Classes featuring hands-on activities, conservation lessons, and tours of the Gardens. Learn more or register.
The Water Conservation Garden – The following garden events will be offered in December.
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December 15, 9:30am – Storytime with Ms. Smarty-Plants – Join Ms. Smarty-Plants™ on the 3rd Wednesday of every month for a featured holiday-themed story followed by a craft. Storytime is free with Garden admission. Learn more or register.
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Weekends in December, 5pm to 8pm – Garden Nights, Holiday Lights – (Free for members; garden entry fee for non-members) – Celebrate the holidays with holiday lights and illuminated garden displays at The Garden! December 2nd is a special Member preview. On December 10th only, Ms. Smarty-Plants™ will be hosting an exciting Holiday Gift Store for her Earth Hero kid friends (kiddos only) to come and buy special small gifts for their loved to ones to share during the Holiday Season. Learn more.
San Diego Botanic Garden Botanic Wonderland – Various dates throughout December (December 4-5, 10-23, 26-30), 5:30pm to 9pm – (fees vary) – Attend this annual winter event strolling through the garden to enjoy holiday lights and festivities. Learn more.
Landscape and Water-Savings Webinars – A series of landscape and water-savings webinars are being offered throughout the month of December. Dates and times vary. Hosted in part by the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California. See calendar and learn more or register.
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Garden Design Workshop (English and Chinese) – Learn how to identify critical steps for successfully designing a watershed-wise landscape including developing a successful planting plan, developing a palette of climate-appropriate plants, and sizing/siting rainwater capture area.
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Irrigation & Water Use Efficiency – Learn how to design a yard using the principles of watershed wise landscaping. Topics include overview of an irrigation system, programming a controller, why drip over spray, and easy ways to conserve water.
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Rainwater Harvesting – Learn how to design your yard using watershed-wise landscaping including criteria and considerations when selecting rain capture methods such as swales, berms, cisterns, and integrating hardscapes.
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Turf: Remove, Replace, or Maintain Organically – Learn how to design your yard using principles of watershed-wise landscaping including removing your lawn without chemicals, building healthy soil, and selecting climate-appropriate and water-wise plants.
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Deciphering Your Irrigation Controller – Learn about your irrigation controller including understanding irrigation’s role in maintaining a soil moisture balance, outlining the purpose of a weather-based controller, reviewing basic terminology and programming principles, identifying special functions like cycle & soak, and troubleshooting typical problems.
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Drip Irrigation Maintenance & Troubleshooting – Learn how to save your landscape by understanding soil moisture balance, key components of a properly installed drip system, typical problems with drip and how to avoid them, and developing a successful maintenance practice.
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California-Friendly Native Plant Webinar – Learn how to design a yard using the four principles of gorgeous and watershed-wise landscaping including building healthy soil, capturing rainfall, selecting native plants that minimize water use, and controlling irrigation.
 Be sure to recycle your live Christmas trees to give back to nature!
I Love A Clean San Diego Waste Reduction Events – Join I Love A Clean San Diego and its partners in the following waste reduction events during the month of December.
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December 8, 5pm to 6pm – Celebrate Sustainably: Gifts and Glitz Webinar – Attend this educational webinar on how to maintain a low-waste lifestyle while navigating the holiday season. Provided in partnership with the City of San Diego. Learn more or register.
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December 11, 10am to 2pm – Used Oil & Oil Filter Recycling Event, San Diego County – Attend a local used oil and oil filter recycling event taking place at participating O’Reilly Auto Parts locations throughout San Diego County. Bring in a used oil filter, get one free! In partnership with the County of San Diego. Learn more.
Solana Center for Environmental Innovation Waste Reduction Events – The following residential and business waste reduction events are being offered in December.
- December 2, 6pm to 7pm – Smart Ways to Fight Food Waste Webinar – Learn how reducing food waste at home and compost unavoidable food scraps to help protect the environment and save you money. Sponsored by the County of San Diego Recycling. Learn more or register.
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December (scheduled pickup to be determined) – Free E-Business Waste Pickup – Coastal North County Cities – A FREE e-waste pick-up service is being offered to businesses in coastal North County cities. Register by the second Friday of the month. Urban Corps will contact you to confirm pick-up. Offered in partnership with Urban Corps. Learn more or register.
Every Sunday in December, 2pm to 3pm – The Living Coastal Discovery Center and City of Chula Vista On-Site Compost Workshops – Learn the basics on how to start your own compost pile and turn food waste into nutrient-rich soil. On-site workshops free with admission. Learn more or register. Pre-recorded video compost workshops also available.
December 11, 9am to 1pm – SD Environmental Services One-Day Collection Events – City of San Diego – A one-day household hazardous waste (HHW) collection event for oil, antifreeze, oil filters, car batteries, household batteries, and fluorescent bulbs will be held at Chollas Yard, on the corner of College Grove Drive and Caminito Chollas. Learn more.
December 26th through January 23rd – 47th Annual Christmas Tree Recycling Program – The City of San Diego is holding its 47th annual Christmas Tree Recycling program at a variety of drop-off sites throughout the San Diego community. See drop-off site locations and learn more.
Christmas Tree Recycling in Unincorporated Areas – Visit WasteFreeSD.org and enter your information to locate the nearest facility accepting Christmas trees for recycling. Note: fees may apply, check with the listed facility.
December 4, 9am to 12pm – Storm Drain Stenciling Day, City of San Diego – Join I Love A Clean San Diego (ILACSD) and Think Blue San Diego for a city-wide storm drain stenciling day! Help play a role in educating the public that no pollutants or trash should go down the drains and into the ocean by using a stencil and spray paint to display pollution prevention messages. Pick up a kit from the ILACSD office before the event and use it to stencil drains wherever you’d like in the City of San Diego! Learn more or register.
December 8, 10am to 11:30am Pacific Time – Watershed Based Planning Tools & Techniques – (Member and non-member fees $99 to $159) – The Center for Watershed Protection is hosting a webcast about the watershed management efforts, and planning and analysis tools used within Coral Bay’s Watershed (St. John, Caribbean) to improve watershed health caused by the 2017 hurricanes. Learn more or register.
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