Thanks for Cleaning Up on Coastal Cleanup Day!
Coastal Cleanup Day in Santa Barbara County was a huge success! 1,273 volunteers of all ages picked up over 5,735 pounds of waste from our beaches, bluffs, creeks, and neighborhoods. That’s 2.87 tons of litter that won’t be flowing into our creeks and ocean!
In partnership with the Santa Barbara County Resource Recovery and Waste Management Division, Explore Ecology organized 31 sites in Santa Barbara County from Jalama to Rincon, with a collective distance of over 55 miles covered.
A huge thank you to our volunteers and site captains for helping us keep our beaches clean and reducing the amount of pollution that enters our oceans! We truly could not have hosted so many sites, collected so much data, and enjoyed such a productive day together without the site captains’ hard work and their many extra hours put into the event! As well as the rest of our Explore Ecology team who supported all of the CCD efforts!
2023 Site Captains included: Pyp Pratt, Paul Pratt, Mia Rahman, Lindsay Erdmann, Ed Bell, Rowina Bell, Sarayu Ramnath, Lauren French, Heidi Greilach, Tessa Cafritz, Spenser Jaimes, Keli Lopez, Al Souma, Barbara Haig , Julie Randall Colbert, Allison Armstrong, Blair Butler, Lyn Moore, Eddie Oros, Ashley Hollister, Paul Izquierdo, Laila Kleinberg, Iwa Lani Martinson, Linda Martinson, Jan Silk, Lori Lee Collins, Maryse Suppiger, Henry Eckold, Alicia Equitz, Ariel Maccarone, Jasmin Tupy, Heather Hudson, Louis Andalaro, Eddie Harris, Janet Koed, Robert Byl, Brian Trautwein, Andra Escola, Allison Fox, , Brandon Kaysen, Dawn Brews, Darren Brews, Hana Subrahmanyan, and Tara Zahraie.
Mia Rahman, the Coastal Cleanup Day intern at Explore Ecology, reported, “Coastal Cleanup Day was such a great event and I had so much fun meeting new community members and visualizing how much waste we can keep out of the ocean. I am so proud of all of our hard work both as a community and as an organization! It’s so beautiful to see how much can get done in such a short amount of time when we come together. Thank you to everyone who came out, we hope to see you again and continue growing this event!”
As usual, the most commonly found items are cigarette butts, plastic bottle caps, food wrappers, and foam pieces. Please do your best to keep these items, and all litter, off the ground and off our coastlines. Reducing marine debris starts with our own actions on land year-round!
Some uncommon items we found were teddy bears, a barbie shoe, and a full-size car wash mop! Locally, we also find many large fishing nets, bike parts, dog poop bags, and fishing equipment.
Jill Cloutier, our PR Director said, “Coastal Cleanup Day 2023 was a huge success! It’s impressive what volunteers can accomplish in three hours at our local beaches, parks, and creeks. Community members of all ages came together for the coast and the result is that our beaches are not only cleaner, but 2.81 tons of litter won’t be flowing into the ocean. That’s not only a win for us, but also for wildlife. Thank you so much to all of our volunteers. We hope to see you next year!”
Veronica Lee, Coastal Cleanup Day Coordinator for Explore Ecology, says, “We are so proud of how much trash our community kept off the beach this weekend! Thank you to everyone for showing up for the health of our beaches!”
For volunteers who don’t want to wait until next year to participate in a beach cleanup, Explore Ecology holds monthly beach cleanups, on the 2nd Sunday of every month from 10:00 pm to 12:00 pm at Arroyo Burro Beach.
Statewide California Coastal Cleanup Day is organized by the California Coastal Commission. This event is the largest annual volunteer event in the state. In Santa Barbara County, the event is organized by Explore Ecology and our partner County of Santa Barbara Resource Recovery and Waste Management. the Cities of Santa Barbara, Goleta, and Solvang offer support as well as many non-profits, businesses, and generous individuals.
Stay tuned for updates on Coastal Cleanup Day 2024. We look forward to seeing you there.
Congratulations, everyone! Santa Barbara County is so much cleaner now, thanks to your hard work.
Check out our Gallery of Photos from this year’s event.
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
