“Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed it’s the only thing that ever has.”
A group of San Diego County residents is living out that famous quote by anthropologist Margaret Mead, neighborhood by neighborhood.
“I live right down the street here … and I’m a graphic designer," said Ocean Beach resident Aaron Null, standing outside his store in OB.
Null has been called a community activist since 2018.
“Especially over the summer, I would see lots of tourist trash accumulating here, especially since we live at the beach," said Null.
Null decided to do something about the litter. He sat down at his computer and put his graphic design skills to work.
“I made this map of the town and put my adoption of my street on there, and I said, ‘who else wants to join me?'... (It) took two or three months and our whole town was turned green. OB adopted it immediately," he said.
And so Street Stewards was born. Neighbors coming together once a month to pick up litter.
“I discovered Street Stewards right during the beginning of COVID in 2020, and I said, 'This is what we need up in Escondido,'" said Scott Horst.
Horst is now the co-director of Street Stewards. He’s in charge of setting up Street Steward groups.
“We have what we call captains. And captains are people, street stewards in individual communities that promote the program within their community," said Horst.
“Picking up litter is a good way to get out there and get some exercise, do something good for my community," said Escondido resident Mike Avila.
Horst recruited Avila to lead the Escondido Street Stewards. We caught up with them as they cleaned an embankment next to the Escondido Creek Trail.
“What we all have in common is that we have a passion for cleaning up our environment. When we come together, friendships are definitely made," Avila said as a group of about 15 Stewards picked up trash.
One thing the Street Stewards like to point out is it's an activity for everyone, including those of us who are not so young, right down to the very young.
“And I like helping people out so I decided I could try," said Zeth Escobar. At just eight years old, Escobar is the youngest member of the Escondido group.
“It feels good to know that our world’s clean," said Escobar with a smile.
There are now about 1,000 Street Stewards spread across 10 communities throughout the county. Null and Horst want to grow the group to where the entire county is covered.
A $35,000 grant from the county is helping them do that. It allowed for the creation of an interactive website where people can adopt a block.
The green areas are blocks that have been adopted, the yellow represents areas adopted a couple of months ago, that might need fresh attention.
The long-term plan is to take Street Stewards statewide and then to the whole country, and beyond.
“What we really need is a phone app. That’s what we really need, and phone apps are a lot more expensive than I thought they would be," Horst said.
Several hundred thousand dollars, according to Horst.
But the Street Stewards are on their way. Remember Margaret Mead’s words about a group of committed citizens — changing the world.
If you’d like to join a Street Stewards group, or just make a donation, check out their website.
