In an effort to broaden its reach and impact, the La Jolla Parks & Beaches group is looking to partner with other local coastal care groups and open space conservation organizations.
At LJP&B’s April 22 meeting, President Bob Evans said efforts are underway to collaborate with groups from Del Mar to Balboa Park, as well as individuals across San Diego.
Among them, he said, is a possible partnership with an environmental initiative sponsored by the Del Mar Village Association and the city of Del Mar called Del Mar ShoreSaver.
“It is designed to enhance the cleanliness and ecological health of Del Mar’s beaches,” Evans said. “So they want to have mobile docking stations with reusable baskets to encourage the community and beach-goers to actively participate in trash collection, turning leisurely beach visits into opportunities for environmental stewardship.”
The program started with one station but may expand, he said.
“If this is something that can benefit our community, I would like to bring this to La Jolla,” Evans said. “I think the program could fit perfectly into what La Jolla is about.”
An LJP&B working group will form to meet with representatives of Del Mar ShoreSaver and report back to the board.
“This can be a template that goes all the way down our shoreline areas,” Evans said.
Parks & Beaches member Diane Kane noted that if the program is brought to La Jolla, trash receptacles would need to be emptied more often.
“One of the issues with trash at the beach is getting the trash collected,” she said. “So once you get it into a trash container, more often than not they are not collected fast enough and they overflow and seagulls get in there and make a mess. So we need to make sure that trash bins are empty.”
Evans said he wants to put together a board development workshop that would include speakers from other park-related nonprofits or conservation organizations.
“I want to see what natural open space conservancy groups such as the Torrey Pines Conservancy or Friends of Balboa Park have to say … and learn about their successes and struggles and how they work out their mission statements and see how they carry out their vision,” he said.
To expand the board’s reach even more, LJP&B member Ann Dynes suggested exploring a hip program.
“Insurance is going up, costs are going up. … In of having an income stream, I wonder if a hip program would lead to ,” she said. “We do a lot of good, and that could help build our budget and build our base. It could be fairly simple to do.”
Evans suggested Dynes explore what other groups do regarding hips and costs and benefits and report back with a plan.
“I love the idea,” Evans said. “I think it just needs to be formulated.”
Other Parks & Beaches news
Earth Day cleanups: Representatives of various groups reported on their local beach cleanup efforts in honor of Earth Day, many of which were held April 20.
Sierra Club Seal Society Chairwoman Robyn Davidoff said her organization conducted a cleanup at La Jolla Cove and Scripps Park with 35 volunteers who picked up more than 40 pounds of trash, clothing, recyclables and nearly 600 cigarette butts.
“We found recyclable bottles and cans that were not in the recycling bin,” Davidoff said, along with snorkels, hand sanitizer bottles and more.
On the La Jolla Bike Path, volunteers led by La Jolla resident Debbie Adams collected more than 3,000 pounds of dry brush.
“We don’t focus so much on the trash, because we have volunteers [year-round] that do that, which is great,” Adams said. “I think people would be surprised to see how clean the path is and how groomed things are getting.”
The Windansea Surf Club held a cleanup around Windansea Beach, but representative Melinda Merryweather did not report how much trash was collected or what types.
Website update: After months of discussion about updating LJP&B’s website, Evans said changes are being made.
“In some ways, it looks very much the same and there is a lot of content that needs to be added,” he said. “We want to get fresh content up and make [the site] much more easy to ister … and to be easily readable.”
He said he sent the board comments from the web designer as to how the site can be improved further.
Next meeting: La Jolla Parks & Beaches next meets at 4 p.m. Monday, May 20, a week earlier than usual to avoid meeting on Memorial Day. Learn more at lajollaparksbeaches.org. ◆
