San Diego is one of the places that a good number of Navy SEALs call home, so it is not entirely surprising that the SEALs get involved in efforts that will benefit the city. Over the weekend, one such activity was scheduled — a cleanup of the Tijuana River Valley.

The effort, spearheaded by Wildcoast, a coastal conservation group, comes at a most opportune time. Winter is just around the corner, and it is at this time that the San Diego Tijuana River Valley is flooded by trash that flows through the Tijuana River, the length of which is shared at certain points by Mexico and the United States. Rains trigger the flow of ocean-bound trash and other solid wastes, and this carries with it a slew of health and environmental issues.

Navy SEALs are directly affected by this occurrence, prompting them at times to reschedule training sessions. This is why they joined other volunteers, composed of surfers, students, ranchers, farmers, environmentalists and other concerned residents from both sides of the Tijuana-San Diego border in a cross-border attempt to clean up the area. It was apparent that a joint effort is the only way to make the clean-up event a success. They will be doing the clean-up manually.

The clean-up was scheduled for last Saturday, October 24, at 9 a.m. It was scheduled to be done before the first rains come and begin flushing plastics, tires and other such waste materials into the ocean. According to a news report about the clean-up on KPBS.com, a mere half an inch of rain can trigger the onslaught of a couple thousand tires in to the Tijuana River Valley.

The clean-up efforts also coincided with the International Day of Climate Action, and became one of 3000 events across 159 nations that aim to protect the environment.