December 17, 2015 — Sleigh bells ring…holiday tunes play…everyone wants to sell you peppermint bark…is it really snowing on that corner of Santa Monica Boulevard?
Our Santa Monica Pier Aquarium has the perfect antidote for the holidaze: A break with the marine life at the Aquarium. (Gazing at fish is a soothing experience, trust us!) We’ve got special holiday hours the last two weeks of 2015. You can drop by Dec. 22-24, between 2 and 5 p.m. We’ll all take a holiday on Dec. 25, but from Dec. 26-31, you and out-of-town guests can visit us from 12:30-5 p.m. We’ll wish all a Happy New Year on the 31st, remain closed New Year’s Day, and reopen with our regular winter schedule beginning at 12:30 p.m. Jan. 2.
- Special Holiday Hours!
Closed Dec. 25
Open Dec. 26 through Dec. 31 from 12:30 – 5:00 pm
Closed Jan 1, 2016
A visit to the Aquarium can also solve the problem of what to get for the hard-to-buy for folks on your list. Consider making a donation to Heal the Bay in a special someone’s name or give the unique gift of Aquadoption, the program that underwrites the daily care of our marine life along with a yearlong membership to Heal the Bay, which includes free family admission to the Aquarium to visit your adopted animal for the full year.
For a limited time during the holiday season, the Aquarium is offering its round stingrays for adoption. And for a special holiday price, a plush stuffed animal stingray (incredibly cuddly, no sharp stinger on this cutie) is included in the adoption package. Four other animals exhibited at the Aquarium are available for “aquadoption” year-round; the stingray will only be featured for the month of December.
Arrange an Aquadoption by registering online, during a visit to the Aquarium at 1600 Ocean Front Walk, beach level, beneath the Carousel building, or by calling 310-393-6149, ext. 114 for more information.
From all the folks and the fishes at the Aquarium, Happy Holidays!
The summit wrapped up with time for each club to reflect on what proposed projects would suit their vision for the year and then plot those goals onto a calendar of the school year. As a registered Club Heal the Bay Partner, clubs also learned that participating in three events or netting three reward “drops” would earn them an invitation to our Beachy Celebration which we will host at the end of the school year.
Meeting in her Westwood living room in spring 1985, housewife Dorothy Green and schoolteacher Howard Bennett mobilize a small squad of grassroots activists to conquer ongoing pollution in Santa Monica Bay. Brilliantly taking its mission as its name, Heal the Bay is officially born later that year.
Thanks to intense lobbying from Heal the Bay and a federal consent decree, Hyperion Treatment Plant agrees in October 1986 to stop dumping partially treated sewage into Santa Monica Bay. Sewage pollution levels in the Bay have since decreased by more than 90%.
Volunteers Gabrielle Mayeur and Sherry Johannes unwittingly create one of L.A.’s great brands in October 1987. Their evocative and provocative fishbone logo creates instant recognition for the fledgling organization. Whether it’s slapped on a skateboard or a Prius, the fish remains a powerful marker for L.A.’s tribe of ocean lovers.
Aiming to protect the health of millions of ocean users, Heal the Bay publishes its first Beach Report Card in 1992, giving A-to-F grades to local beaches based on levels of bacterial pollution. Developed by outspoken executive director Mark Gold, the grading program shines a bright light and eventually helps secure $200 million in state funds to clean up chronically polluted beaches.
The first storm drains stenciled for our Gutter Patrol Program in October 1992 reminded would-be litterers that “This Drains to the Ocean.” Volunteers paint more than 60,000 catch basins with our message and logo over two years, connecting residents throughout L.A. County to their watersheds and our work.
Arguing that impaired water bodies in Los Angeles and Ventura counties are not being adequately remediated, Heal the Bay files an intent to sue the EPA in December 1997. A settlement compels the EPA to create 92 “Total Maximum Daily Load” limits over 13 years. With these measurable benchmarks in hand, Heal the Bay can now pressure dischargers to reduce pollution levels or meet stiff fines. The new TMDL model is copied nationwide.
Heal the Bay gets into the aquarium business by acquiring UCLA’s Ocean Discovery Center in March 2003 for the princely sum of $1. The rechristened Santa Monica Pier Aquarium becomes a beachhead for our youth education programs. We’ve since inspired more than 1 million guests to become better stewards of our local ocean and watersheds.
After years of pressure from Heal the Bay, Washington Mutual agrees in November 2003 to sell Ahmanson Ranch at the headwaters of the Malibu Creek watershed to the State of California. The coalition of environmental advocates, scientists and celebrities successfully preserves 2,300 acres of open parkland and 20 miles of streams, thereby reducing pollution and protecting several threatened species.
Ensuring a vibrant local ocean for generations to come, Heal the Bay’s policy staff leads an often contentious process with the state and anglers to create 52 Marine Protected Areas along the Southern California coast in January 2012. Our most biologically rich underwater habitats get a reprieve from human pressures, allowing depleted stocks in such areas as Malibu and Palos Verdes to recover and thrive.
Heal the Bay’s programs and policy staff spearhead a plastic bag ban in Los Angeles, which in January 2014 becomes the largest city in the nation to take on Big Plastic. The unanimous City Council vote triggers a nationwide debate about sustainability and catalyzes other bans throughout the country.
It’s not every night we get to schmooze with a supermodel. And when the schmoozing takes place overlooking the ocean, well, what could be more perfect? Thanks to our friends at 
