Volunteers Clean the County from Jalama to Rincon
Tens of thousands of Californians turned out Saturday to take part in the 40th annual California Coastal Cleanup Day — the state’s largest annual volunteer event. Participants scoured more than 750 cleanup sites, removing hundreds of thousands of pounds of trash before it could be washed out to sea during the rainy season.
In Santa Barbara County, 1,059 volunteers at 32 sites covered 85 miles and picked up over 5,286 pounds of litter- that’s 2.64 tons!
Volunteers gathered at beaches, shorelines, and inland waterways, to clean up locations in nearly all of California’s 58 counties. With 60% of the cleanup sites in California reporting, the statewide count stands at 28,751 volunteers who picked up a total of 254,772 pounds of trash and recycling or 127 tons.
“Thanks to everyone who showed up at local parks, creeks, and beaches today! Your efforts resulted in over two and a half tons of litter being picked up in three hours time. We are so proud of the Santa Barbara County community right now!” says Jill Cloutier, PR Director at Explore Ecology.
Volunteers kept track of all the items they removed on Coastal Cleanup Day, one of the world’s largest and longest-running community science projects. This data has over the last 40 years revealed a great deal about the extent and nature of the marine debris problem.
About 75% of the trash that volunteers have removed is plastic, a material that never completely biodegrades and has numerous harmful environmental consequences. For example, plastic debris can kill wildlife and leach toxic chemicals into the food chain.
The data has also shown that up to 80% of the trash collected on the California coast originates on land. Almost all water in California eventually drains to the sea, so volunteers, even in inland communities, help prevent enormous amounts of trash from fouling ocean waters.
“Coastal Cleanup Day may take place on one day of the year, but its impact is so much greater than that,” says the Coastal Commission’s Eben Schwartz, Statewide Director of California Coastal Cleanup Day. “The education that the cleanup provides, as well as the constituency that it has built over these past 40 years, has helped generate new laws and regulations that will stem the sources of our plastic pollution challenge. Volunteers at the cleanup are creating ripples that can be felt throughout the year, and we are so proud to help support their efforts.”
Coastal Cleanup Day takes a lot of planning and preparation. Thirty community members donate their time to volunteer as Site Captains who are in charge of distributing cleanup materials, managing volunteers at local sites, and reporting data on the day of the event.
2024 Site Captains include:
Pyp Pratt, Paul Pratt, Elsa Winter, Jasmin Tupy, Heather Hudson, Meg DeCoite, Lily Strange, Tessa Cafritz, Dylan Otte, Dawn Brews, Darren Brews, Melissa Erickson, Julie DeAngelis, Barbara Haig, Julie Randall Colbert, Matthew Cogorno, Allison Armstrong, Katie Pointer, Lyn Moore, Eddie Oros, Ashley Hollister, Karissa Otero, Bodhi Crawford, Jan Silk, Lori Lee Collins, Henry Eckold, Ryan Power, Ryan Wong, Micaela Oleson, Alexis Haley, Samantha Petrie, Johnny Alonzo, Anne Burdette, Janet Koed, Robert Byl, Brian Trautwein, Kaia Kababik, Brandon Kaysen, Cash Upton, Denise Alvarado, Jess Bode, and Veronica Moran.
Everyday debris and plastic items weren’t the only things found on Coastal Cleanup Day. Volunteers also picked up a number of “unusual” items during this year’s cleanup. The most unusual items found in Santa Barbara County were a toaster oven, working calculators, and a small (plastic) dinosaur. In Los Angeles County, a volunteer found cashier’s checks worth $68,000.
Coastal Cleanup Day Coordinator Ellie Cotter says, “We are so impressed with not only the number of volunteers this year, but also by the amount of litter they found. Thank you to everyone who showed up and cleaned up. We appreciate you!”
Volunteers can go to www.coastalcleanupday.org to fill out the Coastal Cleanup Survey to be entered into a drawing for a fabulous Coastal Cleanup Day prize package.
“Californians really turned out for our coast today,” said the Coastal Commission’s Executive Director Dr. Kate Huckelbridge. “All across the state volunteers rolled up their sleeves to protect our beautiful beaches, estuaries and waterways, just as they have for the past 40 years. They inspire all of us to remain vigilant in our work of protecting our coast and ocean for generations to come.”
Explore Ecology extends its gratitude to everyone who made this event such a success.
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 the Cities of Santa Barbara, Goleta, and Solvang. This event is also made possible by the hard work of hundreds of local non-profits and government agencies throughout the state and tens of thousands of volunteers annually.
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
We enjoyed being part of the coastal cleanup crew at Haskell’s. We would love to adopt that particular beach as we pick up trash their regularly👍thank you Valerie Baldwin
Hi Valerie, thank you so much for being part of the solution to ocean pollution! We appreciate your work at Haskell’s!
Carpinteria Family School always LOVES being site captains as a part of this Coastal Cleanup. Not only do our families show up to do their part, but so many in the community come join in this important day. We must protect this piece of wild so close to home. Not only does this cleanup leave our beaches and bluffs better, but it raises an important awareness. We can live with less and produce amenities that will pollute less. Thanks everyone for being a part of this cleanup not only on Coastal Cleanup day but EVERY DAY! SB County, we ROCK! It’s amazing what we can all do TOGETHER!
Jan, as a longtime Site Captain, we are SO GRATEFUl that we get to work with you each year on this important and impactful event! Thank you for everything you do to make SB County a cleaner, healthier place.