Lagoon Clean Up – 1,570 Pounds of Trash and Weeds Removed!

We LOVE the Agua Hedionda Lagoon – the only lagoon in San Diego County’s lagoon systems that is open to the public; combining recreation, water desalination, energy generation, a research fish hatchery, mussel farm, as well as AHLF’s ongoing watershed stewardship. On Friday, May 6th businesses and individuals came together for a little friendly competition to clean trash out of the lagoon, pull invasive weeds, and compete for the Kahuna trophies.

We are happy to announce that Calsense amassed the most points in Division I to win the title of 2022 Big Kahuna! They were up against Teams Ryan, Thermo Fisher Scientific, Otter Products, CleverMade, Dual, Republic Services , and last year’s winner Bitchin’ Sauce. Carlsbad Young Professionals , sponsored by Grand Pacific Resorts , were the big point winners for Division II becoming the 2022 Little Kahuna! Their competitors included Elm Tax, Develop Your Team, Intesa, Dynamic Space Solutions , and Grand Pacific Resorts. The Mini Kahuna was awarded to National Charity League-Moonlight Division , sponsored by NRG ! They were challenged by Kids for Peace, Kawecki Family, Mindpath Leadership, NRG , and Harmoney. Thank you to EVERYONE who participated for making the Agua Hedionda Lagoon the BIG WINNER due to all of your clean-up efforts!

Oh my, what a day! With three divisions participating in the clean-up and friendly competitions, teams began first thing in the morning heading out on kayaks or paddleboards supplied by California Water Sports to different shores within the inner lagoon, on the lookout for trash and invasive plants. Teams pulled old carpeting out of the muck, sets of tires lodged in the mud, rusted pipes and plastic chairs tucked away on shore, and returned with bags full of cigarette butts and beer cans.

172 bags of trash and weeds were collected and removed by 200 participants!

It wasn’t all work – plenty of fun was had after scouring for garbage! Teams participated in word games, memory games, blindfold cornhole, and water relay races. Sunburned and muscle-sore, each division’s event ended with pizza and beer supplied by Pizza Port . Handel’s Ice Cream was on hand to satisfy everyone’s sweet tooth. Republic Services hauled all the trash away. Brue Endres created the beautiful trophy paddles and Ray Pearson was our awesome announcer.

We couldn’t have done any of this without the support of our Event Sponsors: California Water Sports, Pizza Port, Poseidon, NRG, Grand Pacific Resorts, Thermo Fisher Scientific, Republic Services, Brubaker & Associates, Ryan, Calsense, CleverMade, Otter Products, and Dual.

Each year Agua Hedionda Lagoon Foundation hosts the Lagoon Clean Up and Lagoona Kahuna Team Challenge to help the lagoon, build team spirit, and raise funds for AHLF’s stewardship programs. With divisions for corporate participation, small businesses, and individuals/families, we want EVERYONE to be able to participate -

Do Good, Have Fun !

Won’t you join us in 2023?