Laguna Beach Volunteers Cleanup Treasure Island Monthly

Eight blue buckets lined up at Treasure Island Beach on May 16th as volunteers arrived for their monthly ritual of giving back to the ocean. The Laguna Ocean Foundation hosts these one-hour cleanups to protect the tide pools that make this stretch of coastline special.

Tide pool biologist Evelyn Brown hoisted the Foundation's banner as locals grabbed their tools and spread across the beach. "Anytime people come up and clean the beach, they are helping a whole variety of ecosystems and helping Laguna look beautiful," she explained.

The volunteers used standup grabbers to collect tiny candy wrappers, spoiled food, and plastic scraps while weekend beachgoers spread their blankets nearby. What might seem like small trash makes a big difference for the creatures living in the tide pools just feet away.

Jacob Mason joined his first cleanup after years of living in Laguna. "Being part of the ocean is a big part of my life, I want to help out here first," he said while searching for debris along the shoreline.

Ksenila Elfimov brought a personal connection to the work. "Recently we started scuba diving, and it's important for us to keep everything clean and help the environment," she shared.

The Ripple Effect

The cleanup does more than remove trash from one beach. Without volunteers picking up debris, those candy wrappers and plastic bits wash into tide pools or drift to deeper waters, disrupting entire ecosystems that depend on clean habitats.

Fourth-year UCI environmental science major Anastasia DeLeon assists Brown through an internship that bridges science and action. After studying environmental chemistry and biology, she now focuses on public policy and conservation, planning to pursue environmental law after graduation.

The Foundation's main mission extends beyond monthly cleanups to education about the intertidal ecosystem. They help protect the Marine Protected Area designation covering most of Laguna Beach's coastline and teach visitors how to enjoy tide pools safely.

Brown celebrated the May turnout with obvious relief. "Sometimes we worry that not a lot of people are going to show up for beach cleanups, but we have a really nice turnout right now," she said.

The next opportunity to join comes June 6th at Kelpfest on Main Beach, featuring a 7:45 a.m. tide pool tour with a marine biologist and another beach cleanup.