March 2025 Site Reports

March 2025 PBC cleanup banner that includes a photo of a surfer pulling trash out of the creek and a young volunteer planting plants

Volunteers stepped up their game in March with some sites nearing or exceeding 100 volunteers. How lucky are we? With newly installed native plants at sites including Linda Mar, Mussel Rock, and Thornton, we’re hopeful the rainy month has helped these plants get established so they can thrive.

Check out the results from some of our March 2025 events.

Rockaway Beach Cleanup

Highlights: The March 2025 cleanup at Rockaway was yet another record breaker. Several big groups joined us from around the Bay Area, including Joaquin Moraga Eco club, the Young Men’s Service League Crystal Springs, Terra Nova High School, Oceana High School, St. Thomas More School, St. Catherine, SSF, St. Francis, Mercy Burlingame, Junipero Serra High School, Irvington, Hillsdale, Capuchino, and Balboa.

Our volunteers cleaned up another abandoned campsite and discovered some smelly trash bags and fancy tureens bedazzled with little shells stashed in the bushes.

The ocean was enjoying the attention and showing off. We saw high tide right at the end of the cleanup, and while it was not particularly high for Rockaway (3 feet), the waves were dramatic. 

  • 93 volunteers
  • 105 pounds of landfill trash
  • 17 pounds of recyclables
  • 1,247 cigarette filters

San Pedro Creek

Highlights: What an incredible day. Massive results from the San Pedro Creek cleanup, which was made even more amazing by the huge results that the Rockaway team got that same day just a stone’s throw away. A large group of volunteers joined us from Stanford (Stanford LBE). Cub Scout Pack 28 and San Bruno Pack 290 also joined us. Everyone was enthusiastic and hard-working.

We pulled out dozens of tennis balls, baseballs, and interesting large items including:

  • Three shopping carts
  • Two hand trucks
  • Semi-burnt pallets
  • An old child’s western style saddle
  • A marble disc
  • Luggage
  • Artwork/posters
  • A broken surfboard
  • Extremely heavy engine parts
  • Shopping baskets
  • Christmas ornaments
  • An old mattress

Special thanks to the surfer in his wetsuit who grabbed the cart and other debris from the center of the creek so we didn’t have to get wet. Lucky us!

  • 52 volunteers
  • 525 pounds of trash
  • 2 pounds of recyclables
  • 24 cigarette filters

Sharp Park Beach Cleanup

Highlights: Beach Boulevard was bustling as volunteers took to the beach, nearby streets, and pier in a quest to pick up as much trash as possible. There was also a crabbing pop-up event on site.

  • 73 volunteers
  • 143 pounds of trash
  • 9 pounds of recyclables
  • 1,088 cigarette filters

Items of interest from the site:

  • Benefit Cosmetics wax warmer
  • Crab trap covered in fishing line and debris
  • Large storage bag
  • Vertebrae from an unidentified marine animal

Montara Beach Cleanup

Highlights: Our site was joined by groups, including Menlo Atherton, Design Tech High School, Serra High School, Foothill, Boy Scout Troop 234, Young Men’s Service League Crystal Springs, Northgate, Oceana High School, and Woodside.

  • 69 volunteers
  • 120 pounds of trash
  • 16 pounds of recyclables

Items of interest from the site:

  • Drone
  • Wind-up butterfly toy
Volunteers scout for trash in a park
A shopping cart (in the foreground) filled with trash collected by volunteers (in the background) during a March 2025 cleanup event
Two volunteers hold an old mattress pad discovered during a March 2025 cleanup at Linda Mar
A young volunteer on the beach holds a large piece of styrofoam collected during a PBC cleanup at Linda Mar
Volunteers sort and weigh trash and recyclables during a cleanup at Montara State Beach in March 2025
Four volunteers at Montara State Beach pose with large bags of trash and recyclables collected during a PBC cleanup
A young volunteer holds an old, discarded horse saddle found during a cleanup event at San Pedro Creek in March 2025
Two volunteers hold unique trash finds during a cleanup event with Pacific Beach Coalition
Young children volunteer at a beach cleanup in Half Moon Bay
A PBC naturalist inspects a strange vertebrae found during a beach cleanup in Sharp Park
Volunteers from the California Conservation Corps stand near the ocean during a beach cleanup in Half Moon Bay
A student volunteer shows off a crab trap covered in fishing line that he found during a PBC cleanup event at Sharp Park Beach in March 2025

Linda Mar Beach Cleanup

Highlights: Volunteers from many high schools and colleges, our regular hometown heroes, and folks from as far away as Tracy, CA scoured the beach and collected nearly 200 pounds of trash. Among the items, we found large foam pads, black rocks that actually turned out to be tires, nail-filled plywood, and so much more. No doubt they took quite a bit of dangerous material —including microplastics — from the beach.

Many washed-up Velella velella sprinkled the shoreline too. Eventually, they’ll turn translucent and look like garbage soon.

  • 56 volunteers
  • 182 pounds of trash
  • 10 pounds of recyclables
  • 611 cigarette butts

Esplanade Beach Cleanup

  • 41 volunteers
  • 129 pounds of trash
  • 8 pounds of recyclables
  • 1 pound of green waste (weeds)
  • 1,139 cigarette butts

Foster City Cleanup

Highlights: More than 100 volunteers came out and did their part to clean up the Marina Plaza near Denny’s and surrounding area. Groups included Hillsdale and Aragon High Schools, Young Men’s Service League San Mateo, and various other schools. Thank you to everyone who gave their time and effort to serve their community.

  • 109 volunteers
  • 290 pounds of trash
  • 97 pounds of recyclables
  • 16 pounds of green waste (weeds)
  • 5,370 cigarette butts

Items of interest from the site:

  • Auto interior door panel
  • Bumper cover
  • Old restaurant chair
  • Tire and hubcaps

Mussel Rock Cleanup and Habitat Restoration

Highlights: Our habitat restoration project continues to do well at the Mussel Rock site. Teen volunteers scooped up water from the rain pool to help our new plants thrive.

Site captains spotted a young marine mammal in distress during the cleanup event and reported it to The Marine Mammal Center. Thanks to their reporting, the seal — a Northern Elephant Seal (Mirounga angustirostris) — was rescued. Now safely in their care, he’s been named El Cap after El Capitan in Yosemite!

  • 64 volunteers
  • 204 pounds of trash
  • 20 pounds of recyclables
  • 120 pounds of green waste (weeds)
  • 425 cigarette butts

Harbor/Surfer’s Beach Cleanup

Highlights: A huge crowd of volunteers came to beautify the beaches, including large groups from the Episcopal Day School of St. Matthew’s, California Conservation Corps, and the College of San Mateo Business Club. It was so beautiful to see these big groups enjoying the morning together and returning with their hauls of trash.

  • 118 volunteers
  • 149 pounds of trash
  • 30 pounds of recyclables
  • 1,046 cigarette butts

Items of interest from the site:

  • Large discarded trash cans
  • Giant piece of styrofoam
  • Bottle opener
  • Pieces of a hard drive

Take action for Earth Day on April 26, 2025. Sign up for a site online to let us know you’re coming. After your event, join us at PelicanFest from 10:30am-1:30pm at Linda Mar State Beach.