Behind the Dunes Sand City, CA Coastal Cleanup

In partnership with Save Our Shores' Annual Coastal Cleanup Day September 19, 2026.

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A Community Effort to Protect Our Coast

Why Coastal Cleanup Day Matters

On September 19, 2026, Surfrider Foundation Monterey Chapter will join communities throughout California for California Coastal Cleanup Day, the state's largest annual volunteer cleanup event.

In one recent Coastal Cleanup Day, Save Our Shores coordinated 50 cleanup sites across Monterey and Santa Cruz counties, where 1,297 volunteers removed 5,558 pounds of debris in just three hours.

The California Coastal Commission describes Coastal Cleanup Day as California's largest annual volunteer event. California Coastal Cleanup Day connects local action to a statewide movement. On September 19, volunteers across California will gather at beaches, rivers, creeks, lakes, and other waterways to remove trash before it can continue moving through the watershed toward the ocean.

This year's statewide event is organized by the California Coastal Commission in partnership with nonprofit organizations and local government partners throughout California. Save Our Shores has served as the Monterey Bay regional coordinator since the event's inception in 1984, coordinating cleanup efforts throughout Monterey and Santa Cruz counties.

For more than four decades, Coastal Cleanup Day has brought people together to remove debris before it can enter our waterways and ocean. This year, we're bringing that spirit to a part of the Sand City coastline that deserves greater attention.

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Protecting a Sensitive Coastal Habitat

The Sand City dunes aren't just sand.

The coastal sand dunes of Sand City, CA, part of the 18-mile Monterey Bay Dune Complex, are a living, dynamic ecological treasure. Formed over thousands of years by ocean waves, Salinas River sediment, and coastal winds, these sweeping dunes serve as a vital link between land and sea.

They provide habitat for the Western Snowy Plover, a small shorebird whose Pacific Coast population is federally listed as Threatened under the Endangered Species Act. The species has been protected since 1993 because of habitat loss and disturbance.

Despite their harsh conditions, salty winds, shifting sands, and nutrient-poor soil, the dunes support an extraordinary biodiversity found almost nowhere else.

• Shield for the Bay: Foredunes act as natural storm barriers, absorbing violent winter wave energy and trapping windblown sand to prevent severe shoreline erosion.
• Refuge for Endangered Wildlife: The open upper beaches provide essential nesting grounds for the federally threatened Western Snowy Plover, which lays camouflaged eggs directly in the dry sand.
• Lifeline for Rare Pollinators: The endemic coastal buckwheat anchored in dune scrub serves as the sole food source and habitat for the endangered Smith’s Blue Butterfly.
• Botanical Sanctuary: Fragile open sand pockets harbor rare, specialized plants like the federally endangered Monterey Bay Gilia and Monterey Spineflower. Their deep, intricate root networks stabilize the shifting sands, creating micro-habitats for coastal invertebrates.

The Western Snowy Plover, AKA “Snowies”

These cute little birds have become an iconic symbol of conservation along the dunes of the Monterey Bay, one of the few remaining nesting grounds in the world. They can’t nest on the Rocky Shore. “They can’t nest in grasslands, or agricultural fields. They require sand, invertebrates to eat, and to be left more-or-less alone from the intrusions of Homo sapiens…”

What can I do to help the Snow Plovers?

• Leash your pet: One of the biggest human driven disasters are unleashed pets who disturb vital and threatened species such as the Snowy Plovers. Where can I take my dogs
• Join the Snowy Plover Guardian Program: This program focuses on education and outreach by trained State Park volunteers to inform the public about the rules and regulations in place at the sandy beach parks where Snowy Plovers nest and roost.

There's More to This Coastline Than Meets the Eye

Behind the Dunes

The Sand City, CA coastline is one of Monterey Bay's most visible and beautiful stretches of coast. But just beyond the public view, behind the dunes, is another story.

The coastal dune complex stretching from Sand City North to Marina faces continuous environmental pressures. Because this coastline experiences some of the highest coastal erosion rates in California, losing between 1.0 to 6.0 feet of shoreline per year in southern Monterey Bay, human development and recreational expansion create a phenomenon known as "coastal squeeze," where sensitive ecosystems are trapped between a rising ocean and human infrastructure.

Due to this explosion in use by humans in what has been considered fairly remote beach and dune areas, our community is seeing large amounts of accumulated debris, abandoned materials, and trash have collected along portions of the beach and dunes, much of it difficult for the public to see or reach.

Behind the Dunes is an effort to bring that hidden problem into the light, document what we find, and bring our community together to begin addressing it.

This isn't about blame.

It's about awareness, stewardship, and action.

Enter The Dune Gooneys

Community Stewardship Partner

“The Dune Stewards of the Sky”

The Dune Gooneys are a local Monterey Bay community of paragliders who use and appreciate the Sand City dunes and coastline. Their unique connection to this landscape gives them a perspective that most people never experience.

This is their home, too. And they see it all from a bird's eye view. Through Behind the Dunes Beach Cleanups with Surfrider Monterey, the Dune Gooneys are joining Surfrider as local participants and coastal stewards, helping bring attention to a part of our coastline that deserves care and community awareness.

For over four years these paragliders partnered with Surfrider Monterey twice a year in keeping the Sand City, CA dunes free from debris and garbage brought by the ever encroaching human invasion. Together, Surfrider Monterey, public volunteers, and the Dune Gooney’s removed over 600 pounds of debris from Sand City, Ca. Dunes in just 2 hours!

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A New Generation of Local Stewards

Enter our Youth and Future - Trash Turtles

We're also excited about the potential to connect Behind the Dunes with Trash Turtles, a youth-founded environmental non-profit that recently relocated its headquarters from the beaches of Florida to the shores of Monterey Bay. founded in 2020 by a 10-year-old, named CO, who saw trash being pushed toward the ocean and decided to do something about it.

Trash Turtles operates on a simple yet transformative philosophy: ocean conservation doesn’t require massive gestures, just daily micro-habits. Built around their signature #LeaveWith3 challenge, which urges every beachgoer to pick up at least three pieces of litter whenever they visit the coast, the organization empowers individuals to directly safeguard vulnerable coastal ecosystems like the Sand City dunes.

Since its inception, the youth-led movement has removed over 10 tons of marine debris and recycled tens of thousands of stray cigarette butts. Now based along the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary, Trash Turtles is rallying local West Coast communities, proving that small, collective actions can stem the tide of plastic pollution and preserve fragile coastal sanctuaries for generations to come.

Their simple philosophy - "Save the planet one piece of trash at a time" - has grown into a platform for youth environmental awareness, cleanups, and action.

Their presence in Monterey Bay represents something important: Environmental stewardship doesn't belong to one generation.

It belongs to all of us.

Meet Trash Turtles at Sand City, CA on September 19th, 2026.

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Why We're Doing This

We believe the Sand City dunes are more than a beach, more than piles of sand, and more than open space. They are a vital part of Monterey Bay's coastal ecosystem.

Through partnership, stewardship, education, and community action, Behind the Dunes seeks to restore this remarkable landscape while inspiring a lasting culture of care for the Blue Water that defines Monterey Bay.

This isn't simply another beach cleanup. It is an opportunity to help our community see what is happening beyond the visible beach, and to begin a conversation about how we can work together to care for this coastal landscape.

The goal is awareness, stewardship, and action.

That's where community begins.

What We're Hoping to Accomplish:

1. Bring the Hidden Debris Into View

Document what is actually there and help the public understand what lies behind the dunes.

2. Bring the Community Together

Create a meaningful volunteer opportunity through Coastal Cleanup Day.

3. Start a Local Conversation

Give city leaders, agencies, environmental organizations, and residents a clear picture of the issue and an opportunity to work together.

4. Protect the Habitat

Approach cleanup responsibly, recognizing the importance of the dunes and Western Snowy Plover habitat.

5. Keep the Conversation Going

Use what we learn from this cleanup to explore future stewardship and community solutions such as partnering with local governments for support.

This Is Our Coast

The Sand City dunes are part of Monterey Bay.

• They are habitat.
• They are coastline.
• They are recreation spaces.
• They are part of our community.

And for many of us, they are home.

Behind the Dunes Sand City, CA Beach Cleanup is an invitation to see what has been hidden, understand why it matters, and help take care of the place we all share.

How You Can Help

1. Join Us & Volunteer

Whether you live here, work here, surf here, walk here, or simply love Monterey Bay, let’s take care of it together. Click the link to our Volunteer Interest Form and join a local team dedicated to our ocean, beaches, and clean water.

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2. Become a Community Partner

Are you a local organization, school, business, environmental group, outdoor community, or service organization interested in helping?

We'd love to hear from you. Community partners can help with:

• Corporate Cleanup Events
• Cleanup equipment Sponsorship
• Volunteer outreach
• Education

Sponsor Interest Form

3. Share the Story

You can help simply by sharing and amplifying Surfrider’s work through social media channels and posts.

• Share this page.
• Share the photographs.
• Share the videos.

Tell your friends what is happening behind the dunes. The more people who understand the issue, the larger our community of stewards becomes.

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