Starting on Monday, April 1, environmental nonprofit Stand Up to Trash will launch its inaugural Earth Month scavenger hunt, taking participants on an adventure throughout the city of Dana Point.
The scavenger hunt will end on Earth Day, culminating with Stand Up to Trash’s monthly beach cleanup.
Inspired by the Baba Dioum quote, “In the end, we will conserve only what we love, we will love only what we understand, and we will understand only what we are taught,” Stand Up to Trash Founder and President Vicki Patterson seeks to teach the community about the city’s history and nature.
“I grew up in Dana Point in the early ’70s, and there (were) probably about 7,000 people in town and lots of fields and open spaces,” Patterson said, noting that Dana Point’s population now has grown to nearly 33,000.
“I want everyone to learn about how magical and beautiful Dana Point is, how much history we have and bring people that special connection, because I feel like once they are connected, from the quote, they’ll want to take care of it,” Patterson said.
The scavenger hunt has been a year in the making, Patterson said. After the City of Dana Point launched a whale tail scavenger hunt for the 2023 Festival of Whales, Patterson sought to host a similar scavenger hunt that would bring residents closer to the community in which they live.
“I had friends that were doing it and had so much fun looking for whale tails, going around the harbor, and so that kind of sparked a little idea with me,” Patterson said. “I was like, ‘This would be so great to get the community to go around different spots in town and just learn how amazing Dana Point is.’ ”
The scavenger hunt features 10 stops throughout town. Many of the stops offer scavenger hunters a chance to learn about the city’s rich history, sponsored by local organizations and businesses.
Each of the 10 stops features a sign with information about the natural or historical significance of the site and a QR code to learn more about the partnering organization.
Patterson explained that making the signs took “months and months of planning with each partner and the (Dana Point) Historical Society of what information we want to put on each sign.”
“Even people on (Stand Up to Trash’s) board that have lived in Dana Point for 20 years were still learning things off of the little blurb that was written on each sign,” Patterson said.
The Hide Droger sculpture in Dana Point. Photo: Courtesy of Vicki Patterson, Stand Up to Trash
For example, Dana Point Historical Society President Barbara Johannes explained that scavenger hunters visiting stop No. 3 will learn about the history of the blufftop trail, as well as the historic Dana Point Inn Arches and The Hide Drogher statue, which depicts one of the 19th century sailors who used to toss local cowhides from the cliffs to trade for goods from the ships below.
Johannes added that the scavenger hunt is a good opportunity to bring attention to some of these historic spots that people may not know about and their significance today, including why the city was named after Richard Henry Dana or why construction on the Dana Point Inn was never completed.
“It’s those little pearls of history that are interesting. There’s something in it for everybody. There’s the butterfly garden, the blufftop trail, there’s the Kiicha huts, all of those things,” Johannes said, noting that all 10 stops offer something of interest for everybody.
Participants will be asked to take a photo at each stop throughout town and email them to Stand Up to Trash. They will also be encouraged to post the photos using the hashtag #DanaPointScavengerHunt.
To receive a prize for the scavenger hunt, participants must attend either Stand Up to Trash’s beach cleanup on Sunday, April 21, or Doheny State Beach Foundation’s cleanup on Saturday, April 13.
The Doheny State Beach Foundation will host its Earth Day beach and creek cleanup starting at 9 a.m. near the San Juan creek river mouth.
Yes, even stray hubcaps stometimes show up during beach cleanups. Photo:Courtesy of Vicki Patterson, Stand Up to Trash
Participants of both the scavenger hunt and beach cleanup will earn prizes donated from partnering organizations and businesses, including two Doris I. Walker books donated by the Dana Point Historical Society.
Stand Up to Trash’s monthly beach cleanups and lunch-and-learns feature yoga and an informational talk. Historical Society Special Events chair Elizabeth Bamattre and Johannes will be this month’s featured speakers, speaking about the early days of Dana Point.
Later that day, Patterson is inviting the community to join her aboard Dana Wharf’s catamaran, Ocean Adventures, where she’ll be speaking about the importance of keeping the oceans clean and protecting wildlife.
In addition to the scavenger hunt, Stand Up to Trash, in partnership with Meadow Crosby from Trestles Native Plants, will be hosting a plant walk along the Pahne Trail in San Clemente on April 7.
“We’re going to walk along the trail and learn about the different plants, the ecology, the different wildlife and why ‘Save Trestles’ was so important,” Patterson said.
Through each of Stand Up to Trash’s Earth Month events, Patterson harkens back to Dioum’s quote as she encourages good stewardship of the environment by teaching participants about their community.
What resonated about the quote for Patterson, she said, is that “when he says, ‘we will love only what we understand,’ I think that’s really what did it for me, because we like to teach with family and love and inspiration.”
“I’m still in the trenches of learning about trash, and I’m still learning, so I can’t get mad at somebody because they’re still learning about something,” Patterson said.
Paraphrasing Maya Angelou, Patterson added, “ ‘When you know better, you’ll do better,’ and so we just want to offer different resources and different ways of learning.”
Stand Up to Trash also hosts quarterly beach cleanup events in San Clemente. On April 13, the environmental nonprofit will be hosting a cleanup at the San Clemente Pier.
A recent beach cleanup day in San Clemente near the pier. Photo: Courtesy of Vicki Patterson, Stand Up to Trash
“We have partnered with Zebra House Coffee, and they’re offering coffee and a muffin for participants that are working upstream,” Patterson said. “So, we’re going to be at the North San Clemente Pier and at Zebra House from 9-11 a.m., teaching people about how 80% of marine debris starts on land.”
“That’s why we’re cleaning the streets before it ends up in the gutter, and then in the gutter it goes into our waterways and into our watersheds and then the ocean,” Patterson continued.
In addition to Stand Up to Trash’s San Clemente beach cleanup, the Masons of California will host a “Clear the Pier” cleanup at the San Clemente Pier on Saturday, April 20. Fisherman’s Restaurant & Bar on the pier will provide complimentary burritos to cleanup participants while supplies last.
“Clear the Pier” will run from 9-11 a.m., with city-sponsored eco-friendly activities that morning at Parque del Mar.
Orange County Coastkeeper will also host its monthly beach cleanup in San Clemente from 9-11 a.m. on Saturday, April 6.
The San Clemente Public Library will host special Earth Day events on Thursday, April 11 (spring stories and crafts) and on Monday, April 22 (nature stories and crafts).
In San Juan Capistrano, the public library will celebrate Earth Day by hosting a Do It Yourself Hummingbird Perch event, on Thursday, April 18, at 11 a.m. Attendees will learn to make a hummingbird swing perch for their gardens.
The SJC public library will also host a special Earth Day event at 5:30 p.m. on Tuesday, April 23, in partnership with OC Waste & Recycling, including composting demonstrations. Earth Day kits will be available while supplies last.
Doheny State Beach Foundation will also host an Earth Day Arts and Craft project on Saturday, April 6, from 11 a.m.-12:30 p.m., encouraging kids to recycle and reuse items to create art inspired by nature.
On April 20, Doheny State Beach Foundation will host an Earth Day Native Planting project where attendees will plant California native plants to attract pollinators to the area.
Each Earth Month event is “a great way to learn stewardship, meet the community and be a part of something bigger than yourself,” Patterson said.
Go to sanclemente-org, danapoint.org, and sanjuancapistrano.org for more information on Earth Day and Earth Month activities in April.