Thank You, Santa Barbara!
Thank you, Santa Barbara. This year, you really cleaned up! Over 1,287 volunteers showed up for Coastal Cleanup Day on Saturday, September 18th at 28 sites throughout the County. You picked up over 5,211 pounds of trash and over 892 pounds of recyclables for a total of 6,104 pounds- just over 3 tons. Altogether, you covered 42 estimated miles at sites ranging from Rincon Beach Park to Guadalupe Dunes.
It was so great to see everyone gathering again in a safe, outdoor setting to help keep the places we love beautiful and trash-free and to prevent litter from ending up in the ocean. We loved seeing your excited faces as you brought back your buckets or bags full of trash, even if your smiles were behind masks!
Coastal Cleanup Day is part of a much larger international event. With 50% of the cleanup sites reporting, the statewide count stands at 21,000 volunteers and climbing. These volunteers picked up 153,281 pounds of trash and an additional 9,256 pounds of recyclable materials, for a total of 162,538 pounds or more than 81 tons.
Volunteers who participated in Coastal Cleanup can visit the Coastal Commission website to fill out the Coastal Cleanup Day Volunteer Survey and be entered in a drawing for prizes.
There is still time to clean up in your neighborhood, local park, or favorite beach. If you missed Coastal Cleanup Day or want to do more, you can cleanup any time during the month of September and your cleanup data will be included as part of Coastal Cleanup Day. Record what you find using the Clean Swell app or the Google form on the Explore Ecology website.
Statewide, Coastal Cleanup Day is presented by the California Coastal Commission. In Santa Barbara County, the event is organized by Explore Ecology and the County of Santa Barbara Resource Recovery and Waste Management, with support from Project Clean Water, and the Cities of Santa Barbara, Goleta, and Solvang and the help of many non-profits, businesses, and generous individuals.
Eva grew up in Berkeley, CA and is a recent graduate of UCSB, where she studied Aquatic Biology and German Language. During her undergrad, Eva worked as an aquarist at UCSB’s Research Experience and Education Facility (the REEF), where she managed the aquarium facility and found a love for science communication and conservation.
Rachel Palmer
Nicole is a mixed media artist and vintage goods specialist who has been managing Art from Scrap since 2020.
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.
Lydia
Lindsay Johnson
MELISSA BROOKS
Jenny joined Explore Ecology first as an Environmental Educator, then as a Program Coordinator, and most recently moved into the newly created Programs, People & Culture position. Prior to Explore Ecology Jenny worked in science research and consulting, however her passion has always been science education and outreach. Jenny loves all things related to the ocean, especially free diving, and enjoying the beauty and wonder that is the underwater world. Her greatest life passion is traveling, which she hopes to do more of again soon.
Lu’s love of all things Earth began at James Madison University in Virginia, where they got their Bachelor’s degree in Biology. Lu has a Master’s degree in Spatial Ecology- the study of how creatures interact across landscapes- from East Carolina University, where they studied rock pools along a river and the critters that dwell in them.
