Heal the Bay Blog

May 12, 2016 — Where can you find the tastiest breakfast burrito in L.A.? Which beach offers the best tidepooling experience? Heal the Bay’s staff answers these age-old questions and more as they pick their favorite spots to enjoy the L.A. coastline.

BEST BEGINNER SURF SPOT

Dockweiler Beach jetty

L.A.’s already crowded surf spots are no place for a beginner. If you want to learn the Sport of Kings, it’s best to find a mellow beach with consistent surf that’s not intimidating. The jetty at Dockweiler provides an easy paddle out, natural protection from strong currents, plenty of whitewater (you won’t be catching a real wave for a while) and lifeguards on duty. Parking is easy and you won’t find too many surfers in the water, especially if you come after 10:30 a.m., when the winds start to pick up.

BEST BEGINNER PADDLEBOARD SPOT

King Harbor 

Paddleboarding looks like fun but it can be a bit intimidating for newcomers. The key is to find calm water and friendly people to get you started. Our staff likes Tarsan Stand Up located in Redondo Beach’s King Harbor. The staff is friendly and super helpful, with plenty of boards and paddles to rent. And here’s the best part — instant access to calm waters in the harbor, so there’s no need to schlep heavy boards around. Paddle at your own pace or take a lesson. It’s a cool spot to see both wildlife and all the marine activity in the harbor. When you’re done, you paddle right back to the shop and call it a beautiful day.

BEST FISHING SPOT

Venice Beach Pier

Like California itself, Venice Pier is a melting pot of races, cultures and languages. On any given morning you will hear English, Spanish, Mandarin, Russian, Vietnamese and Tagalog. Fish or no fish, rain or shine, you will find friendly fishermen willing to give a hand to beginners. The pier has all the basic amenities – freshwater washing stations and plenty of benches. But the main draw is the completely wide-open structure-less space at the end of the pier, which allows for an invigorating sea breeze and a spectacular 360° view of the sea and shoreline.

BEST NATURE TOUR

Ballona Wetlands

The Friends of Ballona Wetlands hosts a behind-the-scenes tour of the wetlands on the second Sunday of every month. Most of the Ballona Wetlands Ecological Reserve is closed to the public so this is a great opportunity to access the wetlands with the experts. They will guide you through salt marsh and dune habitats. You will get to see some of the 300 bird species that live in and visit the wetlands. If you’re lucky and there in the right season (summer), you may even see endangered El Segundo blue butterflies feeding on dune buckwheat flowers.

BEST PEOPLE WATCHING

Venice Skate Dance Plaza

It doesn’t get any more L.A. than Venice’s Skate Dance Plaza. From roller derby pinup babes to zombified “Thriller” dancers, a dazzling array of Angeleno subcultures skate together at this palm-shaded concrete oasis by the beach. On weekends, you’ll be treated to classic funk jams spun by the resident DJ. Should the spirit move you, there’s plenty of skate rental options nearby. Bring a blanket, get comfy, and enjoy the show!

BEST TIDEPOOLING

Abalone Cove Beach 

Located within a State Marine Conservation Area in Rancho Palos Verdes, Abalone Cove Beach is teeming with abundant marine life. By doing a little rocky tide pool exploring you can find curious octopuses, bright green anemones, spiky purple sea urchins and slimy sea hares. Remember to tread lightly on the rocks to avoid stepping on marine life, be gentle when touching critters, and leave animals in their tide pool homes. Check the tides before you go and time your visit for a low tide. On a clear day you can enjoy fantastic views of Catalina Island, and the Palos Verdes Peninsula is a hot spot for dolphin and whale sightings from shore.

BEST SPOT FOR A PASSIONATE TRYST

El Matador Beach

Looking to channel your inner Burt Lancaster and Deborah Kerr for a steamy make out session in the surging surf a la “From Here to Eternity”? Look no further than this secluded state beach a few miles north of Point Dume. With its high cliffs, pocket coves and secret seacaves, this idyll provides plenty of hideaways for lovers both young and old. Note: to get to the shoreline, you will have to park in the lot near PCH and walk a bit down a winding staircase. Go at sunset and who knows what might happen next.

BEST BREAKFAST BURRITO

Phanny’s

This topic is a subject of intense debate at our offices, but our straw poll crowned Phanny’s breakfast burrito in Redondo Beach as the winner. Steve, Angie and their staff put heart and soul into a blend of juicy salsa, eggs, cheese, hash browns all wrapped in a warm, soft tortilla blanket. At least once a week you are guaranteed to see Heal the Bay staff at Phanny’s for the post dive or post surf reward. Our chief aquarist Jose Bacallao recommends the avocado and egg breakfast burrito. (Honorable mention to Lucy’s in Malibu’s Point Dume shopping center.)

BEST BIRDING SPOT

Malibu Lagoon

Where can you find gulls, ducks, hummingbirds, herons, raptors, songbirds, shorebirds, crows, pigeons, pelicans and more? The Malibu Lagoon! Without a doubt, our staff birdwatchers pick this wetland as the best place to observe the widest variety of feathered birds by the sea. Visitors are greeted by a symphony of sounds and the opportunity to identify more than 145 species. It’s best to stake out a spot near sunrise or sunset. Don’t forget to bring a pair of binoculars, comfortable shoes, and a field guide.

BEST PLACE TO SEE A BLUE WHALE

King Harbor

Blue whales are the largest animal to have ever lived on Earth. The average elephant weighs roughly 5-7 tons, whereas a blue whale checks in at more than 100 tons! In recent summers, we have been extremely fortunate to see these gentle giants in our local waters – another sign of the resurgent health of Santa Monica Bay. Most of the sightings have taken place in the waters off Redondo Beach. So if you’re looking for blues this summer, try one of the charter companies operating out of King Harbor. Voyager Excursions has reported seeing nearly a dozen sightings a day when a pod is in town.

BEST AFTER-BEACH BURGER

Hinano Cafe

After a day of dodging the crowds of Venice boardwalk, tuck into Hinano Café for a burger like no other. The griddle is well seasoned after years of sizzling up simple fare. Flip-flops and a damp swimsuit is the perfect attire as you shuffle over the sawdust-covered floor and saddle up to the old-school U-shaped bar. Free popcorn, super ice-cold beer, live music and pool tables help you celebrate as the sun drops over the Pacific. This divey bar at the end of Washington Boulevard was one of Jim Morrison’s haunts, so it’s a great place to soak up authentic ambiance in rapidly gentrifying Venice.

BEST BEACH FOR YOUNG PARENTS

Ocean Park Beach

It may sound counterintuitive, but so-called Mothers Beaches are some of the least safe shorelines for young kids – at least when it comes to water quality. The lack of waves at these enclosed beaches is a draw for young families, but the absence of circulation can lead to truly alarming rates of bacterial pollution. Instead, try the beach at the end of Ocean Park Blvd. in Santa Monica. You’ll find clean water at this open water beach, a nearby playground, plenty of concessions, many young families (often making sandcastles during low tide) and numerous friendly lifeguards.

May 4, 2016 — Citizen Science Coordinator Catherine Hoffman basks in post-BioBlitz bliss after our wildly successful “Blitz the Bay” event in Malibu. Missed out? No worries! Join us for the next one on May 14 in the Ballona Wetlands.

Last Saturday, over 80 people joined us at Malibu Lagoon for our first-ever BioBlitz! These citizen-scientists came from across Los Angeles to help us document the biodiversity of Malibu Lagoon. Since Southern California has lost over 95% of its wetlands, it is crucial to document the flora and fauna that depend on the wetlands we have left.

Using, the iNaturalist smartphone app, our gang of naturalists recorded a whopping 619 observations of 130 species! From birds to plants to a plethora of marine invertebrates, all of these living things rely on a healthy, functioning wetland habitat to call home.

One of the most popular finds of the day was the black sea hare, the largest marine gastropod (below left). We had 18 black sea hare observations from our group! It was also rewarding to see California brown pelicans dotting the sky: Their presence indicates that the wetland is a healthy stopover for coastal birds (below center). Finally, the tiniest (and probably cutest) observation was the colorful bat star (below right).

Check out pictures from the day on Facebook.

Want to get in on the BioBlitzing bonanza? Join us for Blitz the Bay at Ballona Wetlands on May 14. This is a fantastic opportunity to explore L.A.’s largest remaining wetlands, which are usually closed to the public.

RSVP today!

Apr. 19, 2016 — The battle over desalination in Southern California took another twist last week, when the West Basin Municipal Water District brought the debate over a proposed desal plant in the South Bay to its home court Friday.

The elected board called a Special Meeting in Carson with its newly created, two-month-old Desalination Committee to discuss the merits of a facility to be built near the Manhattan Beach-El Segundo border.

The confab follows on the heels of city council meetings in Manhattan Beach and Hermosa Beach, where council members voted unanimously to oppose the $300 million plant that aims to convert 60 million gallons of seawater daily into drinking water. (You can read more about those meetings here and here.)

This time around, Municipal Water Board members seemed a bit more comfortable and in charge at the home offices. Not surprisingly, few members of the public attended the session given the starting time of the meeting – high noon on a Friday. Representatives from Heal the Bay and Surfrider Foundation quietly laid out their case for investing in more prudent and eco-friendly technology.

Craig Cadwallader, our longtime ally from Surfrider’s South Bay chapter, struck a complimentary tone in his public comment. He reminded board members that they have been pioneers in the world of water recycling and that they should invest in proven technology rather than entering into the expensive and controversial world of desalination.

The West Basin Board is looking to broaden its own coalition of support, in light of Manhattan Beach and Hermosa Beach’s rejection of the proposed plant. The board’s desalination strategy has received support from the Torrance Area Chamber of Commerce and the Gardena Valley Lions Club.

The district also plans to do desal roadshows at upcoming city council meetings in Hawthorne and Inglewood. West Basin Desalination is seeking civic support if it can prove that the plant protects the environment to the extent required by law, is carbon neutral upon opening, and is cost-competitive with the price of recycled water. Heal the Bay and other coalition partners express respectful skepticism about meeting those goals. (You can read our top 5 reasons to be wary of desalination here.)

The next venue for public discussion will be at a Redondo Beach City Council meeting, planned for May 17. We’ll keep you updated if the showdown heads further inland into the cities of Inglewood and Hawthorne.

Mar. 24, 2016 — Hermosa Beach City Council adds its voice to growing chorus against proposed desal plant in South Bay.

The anti-desal nightlife continued Tuesday in the South Bay – this time at the Hermosa Beach City Council, whose members became the latest municipality to publicly voice opposition to a proposed desalination plant located near the Manhattan Beach-El Segundo border.

Environmental groups have been quietly working behind the scenes to convince the West Basin Municipal Water District to abandon its plan to construct a $300 million plant that aims to convert up to 60 million gallons of seawater a day into drinking water.

But you could tell the secret is out, judging from a line out the door Tuesday night for those who wanted to speak out against the shoreline plant. The usual suspects were there: Craig Cadwallader from Surfrider, Melissa Kelly from L.A. Waterkeeper, Manhattan Beach Mayor Mark Burton, along with a host of new faces who have caught the opposition tide. Steven Johnson, a staff scientist for Heal the Bay, discussed marine impacts during his public comments.

Besides the specter of literally sucking the life out of the ocean, we have concerns about how much energy and money will be spent on a desal plant before more sustainable options like increased water recycling from the nearby Hyperion Treatment Plant are fully explored.

The Hermosa Beach meeting followed on the heels of a vote earlier in the month at City Hall in Manhattan Beach, whose council voted unanimously to send an opposition letter to West Basin’s board.

The stakes certainly must be rising, as elected officials comprised nearly a quarter of the people in the room.  Four of the five West Basin board members spoke in favor of simply “exploring the option” of desalination. Two councilmembers from Manhattan Beach and one from Redondo also rose to announce their concerns.

Before the vote, Hermosa Beach Mayor Carolyn Petty succinctly framed the debate.

“Americans never seem to be told not to be wasteful,” she said. “In European society smaller amounts of waste is carefully collected and they are much more efficient with what they consume. In the U.S. the answer always seems to be to find a way to simply deliver more product by whatever means necessary.”

The Hermosa Beach City Council then voted 5-0 in favor of writing a letter to West Basin Municipal Water District saying they oppose the construction of a desalination plant on their coast.

Learn more about practical alternatives to desalination. 

This aerial image was produced during a campaign against a proposed desalination plant in Australia. Photo by Greg Noakes.

Mar. 25, 2016 — This weekend local artist duo Cruder/LaPenta are set to unveil their shifting sculptural installation called “Natural Plasticity” in DLTA’s Pershing Square Park. Here Jana Cruder and Matthew LaPenta discuss the genesis of their large-scale commentary on the impact of disposable plastic on the natural environment.

We are deeply moved by the current state of humanity and its impact on the planet and are determined to make people stop, think and act. And for us, art is that vehicle.

By placing giant replicas of disposable plastic trash in our urban and park settings, we aim to cast a spotlight that is both unforgiving and unassuming on the environmental, political and social realities of the global convenience lifestyle. We hope our collective creative output will make a positive impact not only on this generation, but the next as well.

Our project examines the adaptability of an organism to changes in its environment and the differences between its various habitats. We ask questions about the changing of our natural environment due to unnatural additives and the impact of disposable plastic.

Our installation brings the impact of consumer and corporate behavior regarding disposables into clear view. We beckon viewers to evaluate their own behavior as it relates to plastic consumption. We know that to change what is manufactured and marketed, we must first change the consumer. To positively affect consumer behavior, we’ve decided to “ruin views” by installing larger-than-life replicas of plastic bottle and disposal cups into natural environments in the Los Angeles area.

Our first installment is this weekend in Pershing Square, in collaboration with the Los Angeles Department of Recreation and Parks. We hope to bring the installations throughout the city, following the path of discarded plastic as it eventually makes its way to the ocean.

Come visit the work this Friday and Saturday, sunrise to sunset. Pershing Square Park, 532 S. Olive St., Los Angeles, 90013

We want to say thanks to the partners who made this possible: DO ART Foundation, RVCC and Shark Allies

                                                        Artist Matthew LaPenta preps a giant replica of a plastic bottle for public installation.