events

Join us for community events around the county, including the Great Islands Clean-up, regular beach cleans, workshops, and more.

Great Islands Clean-Up

Join your fellow islanders for the 2023 Spring Great Islands Clean-up on Saturday, April 22!

This year, we rally behind the EARTHDAY.org theme “Invest in Our Planet,” which highlights the importance of dedicating our time, resources, and energy to solving environmental issues.

Check out the information below for island-specific details.

Orcas:

Pick-up bags, vests and grabbers starting Mon, April 17 at The Exchange or on 4/22 at the Village Green in Eastsound starting at 10 a.m.

Collected trash can be dropped off the day of the event between 2 -3 p.m. at the Village Green.

Participants can stop by Island Hoppin’ Brewery for a free pint starting at 4 p.m.!

As part of their EARTH DAY celebration, Orcas participants will receive a Norway Spruce seedling to plant around the island (1 per family).

Contact Pete Moe for more info. [email protected] | 360-376-4089

San Juan:

Meet at 10 a.m. at the San Juan Island Brewing Co. parking lot (410 A St., Friday Harbor) to pick up trash collection equipment and receive beach and roadway assignments. Coffee and goodies will be provided by Lautenbach Recycling to fuel your efforts (bring your own coffee cup, please)!

Drop off your collected trash at the same location by 2 p.m.

There will be an after-party at San Juan Island Brewing Co. with music, $1 beers for clean-up participants, activities for kids, a raffle, and the presentation of the Stewardship Network’s Good Steward Awards.

Contact Katie Fleming for more info. [email protected] |360-762-5821

Shaw:

Drop-off picked-up trash on April 22 from 3 – 4 p.m. at the Shaw baseball field dumpster.

For questions and to pick-up bags or grabbers contact, Jennifer Woodbridge from now until April 22.

Jennifer Woodbridge l [email protected] | 360-378-7948

Lopez:

Come to Lopez Village Park between 10 and 11 a.m. to pick up bags, vests, and grabbers. Coffee, tea, and fresh baked treats will be provided. Participants on the south end can collect vests and grabbers at the Southend Store.

Drop off your collected trash between 12 and 2 p.m. at Lopez Solid Waste (2419 Fisherman Bay Rd.), follow signs to drop area.

Inquire by email if you would like to sign up for a section of beach or road ahead of time.

Contact Larissa Mansfield for more info. [email protected] | 206-383-6611 

The Great Islands Clean-up is a bi-annual event held every Spring and Fall, coordinated by the County’s Department of Environmental Stewardship Solid Waste Program in cooperation with Orcas Recycling Services, Lautenbach Recycling, Lopez Solid Waste Disposal District, San Juan Sanitation, Friends of the San Juans, the Stewardship Network of the San Juans, and many other individual, business and service group volunteers. It is funded with support from the WA Department of Ecology’s Community Litter Cleanup Program.

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Waivers for people who have not participated before:

Adopt a beach!

Join us for regular beach cleans around San Juan Island, or become a beach steward for your favorite beach around the County!

Do you have an event that fits our mission to make the Salish Sea Plastic Free? Get in touch and let us know?

What do you do with all that plastic you picked up on the beach? Make art of course!

Mermaid made from beach trash

Art work created from plastic and trash by the local Youth Conservation Corp teams and by community members during the 2018 Great Islands Cleanup on Lopez (Mermaid) and San Juan (Mandala) Islands.

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