Community comes together to clean up Isla Vista following Deltopia aftermath
ISLA VISTA, Calif.— Following Saturday’s intense day of drinking and partying, empty bottles, deflated balloons, and plastic cups lined the streets of Isla Vista Sunday morning.
Santa Barbara County Sheriffs Office reported around 20 medical transports and about a dozen arrests in their preliminary report.
In 2022, the weekend finished with a total of six arrests and 40 citations.
“Last year it was pretty crazy. There were a good amount of people, but I feel like it was not as intense. This year there were like probably thousands of people in the street. Everyone was like pushing, trying to get into parties, but it was still pretty fun,” said UCSB second year Fleurette Judah.
But just as there was a sense of community during Deltopia, there is a sense of community during its aftermath.
“So obviously yesterday everyone wanted to get together and have fun, but I think being like an environmental studies student and just seeing the amount of trash and just how reckless people can be with just dumping their things, it made me want to come out and like try to remedy that,” said Judah.
Over 100 students, community leaders, and locals put on neon green vests, grabbed buckets, trash grabbers, and maps of Isla Vista, and began their treks to clean up the city.
“A lot of people came out because they care, you know, they care about their community and they care about our parks and streets being litter free, glass free. They want to recycle. They want to do good,” said IVRPD General Manager Kim Kiefer.
Even out-of-towners helped clean up the mess caused by Deltopia.
“Yesterday we saw a lot of people littering so we wanted to make a change. Exactly! We wanted to make it a better community,” said San Diego State University Students Giovanni Fiderio and Jesus Pena.
This post-Deltopia cleanup was part of a larger effort by Isla Vista's recreation and park district to keep Isla Vista clean.
“Any trash that we see on our streets is going to go out to the ocean. And it caused a lot of damage to our ecosystems. So getting it at the source, stopping it firsthand is really important,” said Adopt-A-Block Program Assistant Ashley Kuder.
Many described the community effort as an unconventional easter egg hunt.
“I found a giant Woodstock's beer jug that I'm taking home with me. So, yeah, that was my little like treat of the day,” said Judah.
“One of our volunteers about a month ago found a $50 bill on the streets,” said Izquierdo.
Some treasures even made it into IVRPD’s “Hall of Fame.”
“We found was a soda can that had been dug into the into the mud. And after the rain, it got resurfaced. And I think we dated the cans in 1982 and we still have that the Coca-Cola cans at our office. Yeah. So it's kind of like a relic now. And we keep it just to remind ourselves of how long something can stay in the ground, you know, and not everything decomposes,” said Izquierdo.
IVRPD’s efforts to keep Isla Vista clean is ongoing through its Adopt-A-Block program.
They offer community service hours to volunteers to help clean up on Wednesdays, Fridays, and Saturdays of each week.
“It's nice to like give back to the community just by picking up trash the next day, just to show our appreciation for the really special place I get to live in,” said UCSB second year student Bianca Brown.
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