San Bernardino is one of the first thirty cities in California to earn the Clean California Community designation, a Caltrans and California sponsored recognition for cities that commit to keeping streets cleaner and neighborhoods better maintained. Councilperson Mario Flores says the effort is already changing how residents see their community, and Cal State San Bernardino could be next to join the program.
Flores said the decision to participate was driven by both civic pride and the need to change perceptions of the city. “San Bernardino has a reputation we’re always working to change,” he said. “We want to invest more, to make a visible difference. When you have people willing to help and collaborate, that becomes a lot easier.”
Clean California is part of a 2021 initiative from Governor Gavin Newsom and provides a $1.1-billion state initiative that funds revitalization projects, art installations, and education programs about litter prevention. Caltrans spokesperson Jeff Burdick said the program encourages communities to organize themselves instead of waiting for state cleanup efforts. “The designation isn’t aimed at making assessments about the cleanliness of the community,” he said. “It’s about rewarding local initiative and giving residents the tools to keep their own neighborhoods beautiful.”
Communities that take the Clean California pledge commit to completing ten of fifteen criteria, which include cleanups, tree planting, education campaigns, and long-term sustainability plans. For San Bernardino, participation coincided with larger infrastructure improvements. The city renovated the California Theatre, repaved Second Street, and installed solar lighting on downtown corridors. “Those projects complement the cleanup and beautification work,” Flores said. “They make it easier to maintain what we’ve already started.”
Partnerships with local groups such as Realicore, Creative Grounds, and the Downtown Neighborhood Association have also played a key role. “Last month about 300 people came downtown for a cleanup,” Flores said. “When residents, groups, and the city all pitch in, it starts to feel attainable. You chip away at it until the change feels permanent.”
Caltrans conducted a litter study that determined that an estimated sixty-one pieces of litter exists for every California resident, from plastic bottles to cigarette butts. “Litter doesn’t stay in one place, and neither do litterers,” Burdick said. “Trash moves from freeways to rivers to the ocean. Seventy percent of the debris found on California beaches comes from inland sources.” He said that even small, local cleanup efforts have a measurable impact. “Every community that picks up a few pieces helps prevent hundreds more from ever reaching the coast.”
Flores said the city’s efforts are also part of a larger revitalization plan. “It’s about changing how people see San Bernardino,” he said. “When residents take ownership of their streets and public spaces, it builds pride, and that pride carries into everything else.”
Burdick noted that the Clean California framework allows almost any organized community to participate, including universities. “A university can take the pledge, do its own litter assessment, and track progress toward meeting ten of the fifteen criteria,” he said. “They’re communities in their own right.”
For Cal State San Bernardino, the model could be applied directly. A student-led initiative could conduct a campus litter survey and hold quarterly cleanup events with participation from both students and campus administration. Over time, those efforts could fulfill the program’s requirements and earn CSUSB recognition as one of the state’s first Clean Campus Communities.
Flores said he sees that possibility as a natural fit. “CSUSB students are part of the San Bernardino family,” he said. “You’re already here, so why not take pride in helping shape your surroundings?” He added that a little friendly competition between city and campus wouldn’t be a bad thing. “When people have that drive, the whole community benefits, residents, students, everyone.”
This effort from both the city and campus would also carry environmental importance. The Santa Ana River runs through San Bernardino and eventually empties into the Pacific Ocean. Each piece of trash that leaves a street or parking lot here has the potential to travel that distance. “We’re not isolated ecosystems,” Burdick said. “We are all connected, all involved.”
Caltrans has the goal of reaching two hundred pledges and one hundred official designations statewide by mid-2026. More than 120 cities, schools, and organizations have already signed on, including Edwards Air Force Base, the City of Riverside, and Fontana High School. Burdick said student-driven programs are just the kind of projects that could help Caltrans meet that goal and expand the program’s reach.
Flores hopes students at CSUSB will take that step. “There’s so much untapped potential,” he said. “Many students want hands-on experience and want to make a difference. We want to partner with them.”
He sees San Bernardino’s program as one piece of a larger effort to rebuild civic identity. The reopening of the California Theatre, new lighting along downtown streets, and plans for an arts district on E Street are all part of what he describes as steady, visible progress. “Each project adds to the whole,” he said.
For CSUSB, that next step could begin with taking the pledge. A student-led cleanup and collaboration with the city could turn environmental concern into civic and campus pride. “We see you, we hear you, and we want to support you,” Flores said. “Teamwork makes the dream work.”
Burdick agreed that the impact of local efforts extends beyond city limits. “Clean California works because people take ownership of their own corners of the world,” he said. “When cities, campuses, and neighborhoods join in, the impact ripples far beyond their boundaries. We are all connected, all involved.”
