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Volunteers clean up San Diego River before rainy season

The San Diego River Park Foundation organized a cleanup event near Fashion Valley Mall, where volunteers collected about 5,000 pounds of trash from the riverbanks.

SAN DIEGO — More than 100 volunteers joined forces with the San Diego River Park Foundation on Saturday to clean up the riverbanks near Fashion Valley Mall. This cleanup effort, dubbed the Great River Clean Up, was the last major event before the rainy season hits.

"This area famously floods every single year and we want to make sure we get it cleaned up before it inevitably floods and it goes down into the ocean," said Rachel Downing, an organizer with the San Diego River Park Foundation.

The diverse group of volunteers included San Diego State students, retirees, and community members eager to make a difference. Some even took to the water, like Summer Nelson, who was part of a shoreline team picking up trash from a kayak.

"It was really cool, great experience. I want to do it again," Nelson said. "Just paddled around, saw some trash, grabbed it, threw it in the bag, then went to the next thing of trash."

The cleanup crew encountered a wide variety of litter, from the usual suspects to some unexpected finds.

"We got a metal bar in here, a bunch of trash, plastic, all sorts," said volunteer Nicky Mercer.

"A lot of Styrofoam, water bottles... a lot of trash," said volunteer Debbie Gomez.

The recent Santa Ana winds added an extra challenge to the cleanup efforts. "It was really, really windy so there was a lot of plastic, paper, things that probably inevitably blew over from the freeway that's just right above us," Downing said.

By the end of the day, the hardworking volunteers had collected an impressive 5,000 pounds of trash. While they couldn't get every piece of litter, many participants felt inspired by the visible difference they made and are already looking forward to future cleanup events.

"It's good, I want to do it again, I'm going to see if I can get some friends involved," Nelson said, reflecting the enthusiasm shared by many volunteers.

For those interested in joining future cleanup efforts, the San Diego River Park Foundation organizes community events about once a month.

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