Organizers are calling on residents across Santa Cruz County to “pitch in” May 9 for a coordinated cleanup stretching from Davenport to Watsonville.
The third annual Pitch-In Santa Cruz event aims to build on last year’s turnout of about 750 volunteers, with dozens of cleanup sites planned countywide, according to organizer Sally-Christine Rodgers.
“The goal is to make Santa Cruz the cleanest county in the state,” she said.
Volunteers are expected to fan out across the North Coast, San Lorenzo Valley, Scotts Valley, Santa Cruz, Capitola, Watsonville and Corralitos, tackling litter in neighborhoods, parks and waterways. Residents can sign up for a location and time at pitchinsantacruz.org or simply show up at a listed site, organizers said.
For Rodgers, the effort is rooted in a simple message: reducing litter is a shared responsibility.
“Because I love where we live,” she said. “There is no reason for any of us to litter. We want to change the behavior of littering. It’s bad for the environment, it’s bad for human health, and it’s bad for our community.”
This year’s event coincides with Mother’s Day weekend, a tie-in organizers are leaning into with the tagline: “Make your mother proud and do something good for Mother Nature.”
A central gathering in Watsonville will be held in partnership with the city’s Second Saturday celebration, with activities anchored around the Watsonville Youth Center. The event will include a scavenger hunt-style cleanup where participants collect trash and visit participating downtown businesses before returning to the youth center.
Organizers describe the Watsonville event as family-friendly, with music and activities designed to draw residents downtown while contributing to the cleanup.
Pitch-In Santa Cruz is supported by a broad coalition of public agencies, schools and nonprofits, including Cabrillo College, UC Santa Cruz, Pajaro Valley Unified School District, the Santa Cruz County Office of Education, Watsonville Wetlands Watch, Save Our Shores and the Coastal Watershed Council.
The effort also includes partnerships with the Farm Bureau, California Department of Fish and Wildlife, Community Foundation Santa Cruz County, law enforcement agencies, fire departments, service clubs and local chambers of commerce.
Organizers say the event is part of a larger push to maintain Santa Cruz County’s designation as a “Clean California” community.
While past events have tracked metrics such as the volume of trash collected, Christine said the broader goal is building a lasting community habit.
“This is about something everyone can do,” she said. “We can all stop littering or pick up litter when you see it.”
Cleanup times vary by location, with many starting around 9am, and the Watsonville event beginning later in the morning. Most shifts run about two hours.
More information, including site locations and signup details, is available at the county-hosted Pitch-In Santa Cruz website.
