Heal the Bay Blog

Author: Heal the Bay

In Compton: Greening the Future

08.14.2012 | Heal the Bay

Following a path already traveled by the likes of Van Jones in the East Bay Area and Majora Carter in the South Bronx, Rhonda Webb of Compton has started a journey of revitalizing her community that is rooted in green infrastructure and a green economy.

Even the street artist Shepard Fairey is hip to the idea that gardens and green space are important elements in rebuilding communities with his “Urban Roots” piece (see below). The communities involved in each of these efforts general have common threads: dis-investment by private and public sector, large swaths of vacated land, a large population of underemployed and unemployed, and a number of public health issues associated with the built environment.

For the past three years, Rhonda has been working in South Los Angeles, particularly in Compton, to bring attention to the connections of community and environmental health. She has actively worked with school-aged kids to tie environmental education and real world experience. Beyond the environmental benefits derived from her efforts, she is equally concerned with the economics of going and being “green.” For her, “the multi-billion dollar green economy has not altered or improved the quality of life. The green economy has gone mainstream and quietly left communities of color in the grey polluted economy of yesterday. The black and Latino communities are festering in a gray dirty economy.”

While critical of the green economy and its past efforts, she is a believer that green has the capacity to “lift communities out of poverty” through job creation and employment opportunities. But the best part of this effort, it will lead to the more livable communities, healthier food sources, and a softer landscape. “That’s beautiful. That’s power. A power that needs to be developed, harnessed, and used by Latino and black communities in reimagining Compton and South Los Angeles.”

To this end, Rhonda and her community group LEAPS Action Center, will be hosting “Make a Green Noise,” an event that involves community garden planning and planting. It takes place this Saturday (08/18) from 10 .am. to 1 p.m. in the City of Compton at 2125 W. Compton Blvd. This effort is part of a global movement to utilize green tools to promote opportunities for equitable, sustainable and innovative renewal.

Come get your hands dirty and be part of this movement. Heal the Bay staff will be there if you’d like to join us. For more information about LEAPS Action Center call (310) 637-2843 or visit: http://www.indiegogo.com/makeagreennoise.

Read more about how Heal the Bay has made the Compton Creek Watershed a major programmatic effort for the last 10 years, as part of our Healthy Neighborhoods, Healthy Environment initiative.

— James Alamillo

Urban Programs Manager, Heal the Bay

Shepard Fairey Urban Roots

Questions? Call us 1.800.HEALBAY or contact our Programs staff.

Your donation can help Heal the Bay continue impactful community programs such as these. Please make a donation.

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Sewage Spill in Orange County

08.13.2012 | Heal the Bay

Beach Report Card News

As of August 11, the harbor water area at the Huntington Harbour Boat Launch in Orange County at Warner and PCH to the boat docks at Bluewater Lane is closed to swimming and diving due to a sewage spill.

Baby Beach in Dana Point and Poche Beach in San Clemente were also on alert for high bacteria levels.

County environmental health officials also advise beachgoers to avoid contact with any beach area adjacent to storm drains, creeks and rivers, where bacteria may be high.

Ocean and bay waters are closed when an immediate health hazard is identified, such as a sewage spill.

More information here.

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That’s Beautiful…and Disgusting!

08.10.2012 | Heal the Bay

California Bag Ban Santa Monica

California artist Marina DeBris transforms the trash she finds on the beach into “trashion,” wearable – and fashionable—clothes.

“When I moved here 14 years ago, I was disgusted by the amount of trash on the beach,” she recalls. Eventually she engaged with Heal the Bay and other environmental organizations to address the problem, because she says, “I love the ocean.”

DeBris began crafting trashion about a year ago, when Heal the Bay asked her to dress a mannequin to display at the opening of Santa Monica Marketplace. She made that piece, titled “White Trash,” from the “most prevalent things” she finds when she walks the beach, including: cigarette lighters, bottle caps and straws.

“I saw ‘White Trash’ as a great opportunity to represent Heal the Bay and get the public to think about how they know all of these items,” she says.

Her latest trashion collection features what DeBris calls “The Bag Lady,” a dress comprised entirely of plastic bags. “I don’t clean the items,” she says. “So the bags on this dress have already gone through the ocean and have been sitting in the sun for a long time. It’s rather disgusting.”

And that, she says, is her favorite compliment to receive: “That’s beautiful…and disgusting!”

Watch this video for a trashion show of DeBris’ latest work, made from ocean-bound litter.

Want to help end the scourge of plastic bags? Help Heal the Bay pass a statewide ban in California. Take action.

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Seven-Year-Old Pledges Lemonade Sales to SMPA

08.07.2012 | Heal the Bay

Heal the Bay Aquarium Santa Monica

Seven-year-old Jack Mcguinness has a passion for all animals, according to his mom Karen Mcguinness. So our Science Adventure Camp this summer was right up his alley.

After a week of fun getting to know the 100-plus species of marine life at our Santa Monica Pier Aquarium, Jack was inspired to fundraise for the Aquarium as well as adopt a swell shark egg through the marine education facility’s aquadoption program.

To run his lemonade and cookie stand, Jack enlisted the help of his siblings, who took turns holding a sign and flagging down customers. Thank you Jack for becoming a steward of the marine environment and for supporting the Aquarium!

Join Jack and support our work. Donate now or adopt an SMPA animal as a birthday or anniversary gift.

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Your Bag Photo: Worth a Thousand Words

07.25.2012 | Heal the Bay

About Us California Bag Ban Long Beach / Avalon Malibu / Pacific Palisades Marina del Rey / Playa del Rey Palos Verdes Peninsula Santa Monica South Bay Venice Beach

They float down the street like tumbleweeds, get stuck in trees and wrap around fence posts, flapping like tattered flags in the wind. You know what we’re talking about: Discarded plastic bags.

We want to tell their story, and we need your help. Because we believe that in a sea of text, it’s often photographs that catch our eye. We ask you to submit to us your own photographs of plastic bags that you find in their unnatural habitats.

You can share your plastic bag images on Twitter, Flickr and Instagram using the tag #BagBanCA, and on Facebook by posting them to our Fan Page. We will be reposting them here and collecting them to present to the State Senate. Your photos are automatically entered to win a free “California, Sack the Bag” T-shirt!

Californians use an estimated 12 billion single-use plastic carryout bags a year, and due to their lightweight nature and the fact that they never truly biodegrade, these bags often end up as litter. This is not just a coastal or beach issue: We encounter them as litter in schoolyards and our parks, and if you’re really unlucky, you’ve discovered them wrapped around your car’s exhaust system.

Over 100 California cities and counties have led the charge in banning plastic bags. And now the California legislature has the opportunity to eliminate plastic bag waste statewide by passing Assembly Bill 298. This bill will create a uniform California policy by phasing out single-use plastic bags in supermarkets, retail pharmacies, and convenience stores statewide and encouraging consumers to bring reusable bags, the most sustainable alternative. We don’t want to just tell state legislators that this legislation is important to Californians; we want to show them why passing this bill is necessary.

It’s time to use photos to tell the story about plastic bag pollution in your neighborhood.

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Buy local art to support Heal the Bay

07.23.2012 | Heal the Bay

Long Beach / Avalon Malibu / Pacific Palisades Marina del Rey / Playa del Rey More Ways to Give Palos Verdes Peninsula Santa Monica South Bay Venice Beach

On Sunday, July 22, Le Cellier Restaurant and Wine Bar in Marina Del Rey hosted DudaArt‘s “Blue Aquarium,” an artist reception to benefit Heal the Bay. Twenty percent of proceeds from instore sales went to Heal the Bay. Saxophonist Don Bell and singer Summer Rona performed while special French-Vietnamese food and drinks were served.

If you weren’t able to make the event, fear not. Gilcee’ prints are on sale online with 50 percent of proceeds after shipping/handling going to Heal the Bay. Don’t miss this chance to support local art and Heal the Bay.

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From Throwaway Plastic Debris to Work of Art

07.20.2012 | Heal the Bay

About Us Palos Verdes Peninsula

How many times have walked around your park, neighborhood, beach, school, or outside and looked at the litter left by others? Did you shake your head in disbelief or disgust? Did you curse? How about pick it up and properly dispose of it? I’m guilty of all of the above. In fact, I have even made my kids pick up litter, as an example of taking better care of the world they live in—they’ve rolled their eyes at my fanaticism but they will thank me later.

However, one thing I’ve never done is pick-up litter to be used for an art project. That is hardcore in my book—and this is coming from someone who owns a copy of the Scavenger’s Manifesto and tries to follow it whenever possible. But for Claudio Garzon, it is all about creating the next piece of steam punk marine art, and using the art to educate people about the problems with plastic in our marine environment.

What is Steampunk art? Steampunk art is a genre that incorporates elements of science fiction and fantasy into art pieces, by using lots of metal and electronic materials. However, in Claudio’s artwork, most if not all the materials used by him are plastic bits and pieces he has found in his neighborhood and or at the beach. Instead of simply throwing out the plastic he picks up, he has designed a way to creatively re-use the plastic debris he finds. “Many of us, who live near the oceans, or any body of water for that matter, know that plastic products are one of the top forms of pollution found in these areas,” Claudio says.

His PlasTiko-Bots Marine series is made from the very same plastic pollution that litters our lakes, oceans and rivers. Three months ago, Claudio made a Steampunk shark for Heal the Bay that consisted of plastic material he had found in the Los Angeles River.

Claudio recently launched the Sea Turtle Guardian Project, with proceeds from the sales of these custom baby sea turtle sculptures going to Heal the Bay.

Check out Claudio’s work on his Facebook page: PlasTiko-Bots.

Curious how much debris Heal the Bay volunteers find on our beaches? Use our Marine Debris Database.

Be part of the solution: Join us for a cleanup. And bring your kids!

— James Alamillo

Urban Programs Manager

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Join Our Junior Water Science Program

07.19.2012 | Heal the Bay

Malibu / Pacific Palisades Marina del Rey / Playa del Rey Santa Monica Venice Beach

There are still available spots for high school students in Heal the Bay’s Creek Week Summer Institute in August. The days are full of adventure and learning about our local watershed. The sun is bright and warm, and sometimes you slip in the mud. What more could you ask?

The first day starts with the following question: What is a watershed? The response: blank stares and confusion.

Creek Week hopes to fix that by taking high school students through the path of our watershed from the mountains into downtown L.A. and out to the ocean, teaching about just how important the watershed is in moving water throughout our environment.

“There’s a river in LA?” Our students ask that question with a quizzical expression. Hanging out in beautiful natural spaces like the Big Tujunga Creek, it’s not that hard to believe. If only we had a nickel for every time a student asked us if they could jump in. But as we travel down farther into the concrete jungle of downtown L.A., let’s just say there are fewer volunteers for water collection. At one site this summer they weren’t even allowed in the water at the river’s edge!

But with each new day, students learn the science of looking into nature. Teams watch for soaring birds, count darting fish, and measure chemical concentrations, discovering what field science can tell them about the health of the river.

Other hands-on crafts, games, and guest speakers from Heal the Bay keep spirits high after the science of the morning. From improv to human pyramids, students laughed as they learned important lessons about environmental stewardship and advocacy.

And by day five, the students can define a watershed, conduct assessments to determine watershed health, and are prepared to share their new knowledge with their community. Change is in the adventure. Join us as we teach students how to protect what they love!

Find out more about our August 6-10 Creek Education program. Cost: $200

–Edward Murphy

Heal the Bay Secondary Education Coordinator

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Share the Connection

07.19.2012 | Heal the Bay

About Us Malibu / Pacific Palisades

We get it. You use reusable bags, coffee mugs, water bottles… You’ve already made the commitment to reducing plastic in your own life because you see the effect: You know how plastic litter and other pollutants damage our ocean. What’s next? Help us spread the word and help your fellow Angelenos make the same connection. Join Speakers Bureau.

An integral part of Heal the Bay’s mission, Speaker Bureau volunteers build educational awareness by speaking to schools, organizations and businesses about the causes and consequences of ocean pollution.

Just last year Heal the Bay’s Speaker Bureau reached more than 50,000 Los Angeles County residents, including the youth who will be future stewards of our seas.

Training Session Dates:

Tuesdays, August 7th, 14th, and 21st from 1 – 4:30 p.m. Location: The Japanese Garden Kawana Pavilion Conference Room 6100 Woodley Ave., Van Nuys, CA 91406; Saturday, August 18th 9:30 a .m.-noon. Location: Will Rogers Beach.

If you are interested in joining Heal the Bay’s Speakers Bureau and are able to attend all of the training sessions, please complete the registration form.

Learn how to make a difference for the environment and your community. If you have any further questions, email Melissa or reach her at 310.451.1500 x146.

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Summer's Two Most Important Petitions

07.09.2012 | Heal the Bay

California Bag Ban Long Beach / Avalon Los Angeles Stormwater Malibu / Pacific Palisades Marina del Rey / Playa del Rey Palos Verdes Peninsula Santa Monica South Bay Venice Beach

Petitions are one of the most influential ways to have your voice heard, and this summer, Heal the Bay is running several pressing campaigns to protect clean water and healthy neighborhoods.

Californians use an estimated 12 billion plastic bags a year, many of which end up as litter. In fact, plastic bags make up an estimated 25 percent of urban litter in L.A. River storm drains. Let your representative know that you’re fed up with plastic bags trashing our communities and beaches, and tired of wasting taxpayer dollars on plastic bag litter cleanup. Sign the statewide plastic bag ban petition.

Speaking of storm drains, the Regional Board is mulling a new stormwater permit that could result in “urban runoff” such as animal waste, oils and toxic materials being dumped into our local rivers and beaches with little or no treatment. This would result in dirtier water and a higher risk of getting sick anytime you swim or surf in Southern California beaches. Let the Regional Board know you want to be able to safely swim at our beaches or fish in our rivers, today. Sign the Take L.A. by Storm petition.

Related:

California, Bury the Bag

Take L.A. By Storm

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