Volunteers gather at Raglan Public House after last year’s End of Summer OB Beach Cleanup.
Raglan Teams Up With Cleaner Streets Initiatives, San Diego Coastkeeper and South Coast Surf Shop for “End of Summer OB Beach Cleanup”
By Matthew Wood
Summer’s over, the tourists are gone and it’s time to take back our beach.
That’s the thinking behind Raglan Public House’s second annual End of Summer OB Beach Cleanup on Saturday, September 6.
“It’s a nice thing we can do,” said Raglan manager Mike Zouroudis.
“It’s just nice to have this beach back and a little slower. It’s a great way to get our town back for the next six or seven months.”
Raglan is partnering with the Cleaner Streets Initiatives, San Diego Coastkeeper and South Coast Surf Shop to put on the event, which runs from 9 to 11 a.m. Raglan will host a private party for volunteers on its patio after the cleanup.
Zouroudis said he’s excited to work with the Cleaner Streets Initiative, which organizes volunteers to help keep OB clean. He met Greg Crowley of the CSI-OB at a Town Council meeting.
“They’re like, my go-to non-profit,” Zouroudis said. “We believe in what they do and they believe in what we do.”
Crowley says they want to go above and beyond the normal cleanups that just stick to the sand.
“There are so many beach cleanups that happen in OB,” he said. “We’re really trying to take it beyond that, to the streets and alleys.”
He likes to stress his group’s motto for Ocean Beach: “We’re not talking spotless, just a little bit cleaner.”
Zouroudis said they picked up more than 500 pounds of trash last year, including thousands of cigarette butts. He expects another solid turnout of volunteers, from Point Loma High School students all the way to retirees.
“Last year we probably had about 50 people,” he said. “I think we’re gonna crush that this year.”
Crowley has been directing interested volunteers to sign up or find out more info on the group’s Facebook page. “We’re building momentum,” he said.
If you want to just show up, head to Raglan at Bacon and Niagara at 9 a.m. or find the cleanup table near the OB Pier.
“It’s just a cool thing to do,” Zouroudis said. “It’s our town again. Let’s clean it.”
{ 4 comments… read them below or add one }
Really glad to see they’re focusing on streets and alleys this year! The beach is actually quite clean for post Summer standards thanks to locals being on top of it the last few months!
Correction. Article says, He likes to stress his group’s motto for Ocean Beach: “We’re not talking spotless, just a little bit clean.” CLEANER. Ya just left off the ER….lol.
All you peeps who complain how bad this or that is here in OB…this is your chance to help make it a little bit cleanER!
See ya in the morning! Also, look for a table out by the sea wall too.
Last year at this clean up, CSI OB had 40 people show up. This morning, we had over 80! The after party at Raglan was a blast! We would love to thank Mikey Z of Raglan for his generosity and sponsorship and for all the volunteers that gave their time today to make our town a little bit cleaner!
Thanks OB Mercy for an update of the clean-up.