Clean Ups

SVCA hosts a monthly Adopt-a-Highway cleanup and several community cleanups throughout the year. We’re also proud partners of I Love a Clean San Diego and Street Stewards, working together to protect and care for our shared spaces.  

We’d love to see you out at our next cleanup—come join the fun and help make a difference! 

Why Community Clean-Ups Matter

It’s easy to wonder — why bother picking up trash when it feels like there’s always more? Maybe you’ve thought, other people are just going to litter anyway, or my small effort won’t make a difference.

But the truth is, it does make a difference.

Every piece of trash that’s picked up helps protect our watershed — the system of creeks, drains, and channels that carry water through Spring Valley and into San Diego Bay. When trash is left on the ground, rain washes it into storm drains, polluting our waterways and harming wildlife. A single cleanup can keep hundreds of pounds of waste from ever reaching our ocean.

Beyond the environmental impact, community clean-ups are about more than just trash — they’re about community pride and connection. When you show up to clean your neighborhood, you’re sending a message: We care about this place. That pride is contagious. People notice when they see others taking action — and that creates social pressure in the best way possible. It shifts the norm from “someone else will take care of it” to “this is our community, and we all take care of it.”

Change starts small — with a few people and a few bags of trash. But over time, those small acts add up to cleaner streets, healthier waterways, and a stronger, more connected Spring Valley.

So yes, it matters — every cleanup, every piece of litter, every volunteer. Because when we all pitch in, we’re not just cleaning up our community — we’re shaping the kind of place we want it to be.