Coastal Cleanup Day Volunteers Remove 5,652 Pounds of Trash!
Thanks to everyone who joined us for Coastal Cleanup Day on Saturday, September 19th. Thanks to your efforts, more than 5,652 pounds of litter was removed from local beaches, parks, creeks, and the Santa Ynez River!
Over 1,055 volunteers cleaned 83 miles of Santa Barbara County.
The top three items found during this year’s cleanup were:
- Plastic foam pieces
- Cigarette Butts
- Food wrappers
The Painted Cave site had the most trash collected, with 1,500 pounds of trash and recyclables picked up!
In addition to everyday litter and plastic debris, volunteers uncovered several unusual items, including a machete, an American Airlines crew pin, a rocking chair, a plastic finger, a Labubu, a plastic Jesus figurine, 80 pounds of copper wire, a tiny plastic skull, a $10 bill, and a bow tie.
Explore Ecology is grateful to every volunteer who participated, with special thanks to the dedicated Site Captains, including local youth leaders, who made the event run seamlessly across all sites. This year’s amazing roster of Site Captains include: Liz Loeza, Explore Ecology staff, Isela Trujillo, Anastasia Senavsky, Dr. Lena Dicken, Patty Abou-Samra, Kalea Isaac, Vanessa Brooks, Heather Hudson, Tatianna Suriel, Emma Beaver, Michaela Miller, Maya Schwartz, Hannah Jones, Brian Trautwein, Dougal House, Ally Aplin, Audrey Engelsgjerd, Denise Alvarado, Melissa Erickson, Julie DeAngelis, John Ziegler, Natasha Booth, Julie Colbert, Diego Cordero, Allison Armstrong, Katie Pointer, Lyn Moore, Eddie Oros, Ashley Hollister, Samantha Bankston, Nicholas Capalia, Karissa Otero, Bodhi Crawford, Bryan Mootz, Roman Baratiak, Henry Eckold, Marshall Hoopingarner, Jack Azar, Peter Stockmann, Nicole Luo, Anne Burdette, Jean-Michel Ricard, Brandon Kaysen, Ethan Anadon, Camryn Takahashim, Janet Koed, Greg Helms, Robert Byl, Kaia Kababik, Jorge Baez, John Royce, Clay Garland, Katie Tompkins, Mia McAdams, Lindsay Erdmann, Destiny Garcia, Ryan Wong, Blake Sumski, Sarah Breen, and Penny Owens.
Special thanks to the many nonprofits, businesses, and generous individuals who make this event possible. Local businesses donated items and experiences to our prize drawing for volunteers, including: Bettina, Blenders in the Grass, BODYROK, CalNAM California Nature Art Museum, Carpinteria Beautiful Garden Market, the Cultured Abalone Farm, Environmental Defense Center, Heal the Ocean, Lucky Penny, McConnell’s Ice Cream, Natural Cafe, Santa Barbara Zoo, Sea Glimmers, The Ritz-Carlton, The Land Trust, and Yoga Soup.
In Santa Barbara County, Coastal Cleanup Day is organized by Explore Ecology and the County of Santa Barbara Resource Recovery and Waste Management Division, with support from the Cities of Santa Barbara, Goleta, and Solvang. The California Coastal Commission organizes the statewide event and the international event is organized by the Ocean Conservancy.
Coastal Cleanup Day is an annual international day of reducing ocean pollution, but it is not the only opportunity to clean up our coastlines. Explore Ecology hosts monthly beach cleanups, the second Sunday of every month from 10:00 am to 12:00 pm at Arroyo Burro Beach. Please join us!
Thank you, Santa Barbara County!
Josh was born and raised in Santa Barbara, where his passion and curiosity for the environment began and has continued to grow. During his undergraduate studies, Josh pursued this interest at the University of California at Santa Cruz, receiving a Bachelor’s Degree in Environmental Studies.
Melissa Dodos developed her passion for creative reuse as a mother of four and elementary educator over the past 25 years. She loves to inspire creativity by connecting people with resources and ideas.
Veronica grew up in San Diego and spent four years in San Luis Obispo studying Animal Science at Cal Poly. As an undergrad she learned lots about livestock, agriculture, and wildlife.
Stephanie began her journey as an educator over twenty years ago working as a preschool teacher in Washington state for a cooperative preschool program affiliated with Whatcom Community College. She loved observing the wonder and curiosity of the children and bringing them out into nature to explore the natural world. She continued her love for learning and got her teaching license and then her Montessori certification and worked as an elementary teacher in Tribal, Public, and Montessori schools. She collaborated to create a school garden and her students loved it so much that it became a special place where they could garden, read, explore, play, and it provided a safe sanctuary for students to calm down and reset when they were having difficult moments.
Morgan’s mermaid soul is always seeking adventure—swimming a relay across the Santa Barbara Channel and taking the first photo of a newborn orca off Anacapa Island being standout experiences close to home.
Lindsay Johnson
