Keep Gardena beautiful, one block at a time.
This past September 19, The Grid Project joined up with the City of Gardena’s Keep Gardena Beautiful Day, the annual community-wide cleanup event organized alongside city staff, with volunteers spread across neighborhoods, alleys, sidewalks, and City Hall.
Because of West Nile Virus concerns, our group worked at the Peary Middle School garden, one of the day’s cleanup sites. We spent most of the morning in the school’s waterless pond, clearing out debris, rubbish, and dead plants. For our team, the best part was seeing the dramatic change in the school’s pond. It was a small, concrete picture of what happens when people show up together for a place that serves its community every day.
Afterward, the City hosted volunteers at Mas Fukai Park for a free lunch from Rutt’s Hawaiian Cafe (opens in new tab) and held a raffle with Amazon, Home Depot, and Visa gift cards, plants, and learning games and projects.
Across the city, it added up. According to the City of Gardena, nearly 400 volunteers gave more than 1,200 hours of service and collected 80 cubic yards of trash at the 26th annual Keep Gardena Beautiful Day in 2026.
Everyone had a good time, and several people asked when the next event is. The City has already set the next Keep Gardena Beautiful Day for September 18, 2027. We hope to see you there.
Thank you to everyone who came out, to the City of Gardena and the Keep Gardena Beautiful Day team, and to Peary Middle School.
See the day
- Photos (Instagram) (opens in new tab)
- Reel (Instagram) (opens in new tab)
- The City of Gardena’s thank-you video (Instagram) (opens in new tab)
Details
- Date: September 19, 2026
- Time: 8:00 AM to 11:00 AM, followed by lunch
- Location: Peary Middle School Garden, Gardena, CA
- Hosted by: City of Gardena, Keep Gardena Beautiful Day