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Heal the Bay Blog

Getting a water-smart recreation area built in marginalized South L.A. was no walk in the park. But Heal the Bay persevered.

Seventeen years ago, residents of South L.A. began working toward a vision: to transform a long-overlooked lot into a vibrant community space. Heal the Bay’s Meredith McCarthy joined that effort as a committed partner, supporting the neighborhood’s leadership and helping to navigate the challenges of funding, permitting, and environmental planning. Together, they turned a neglected space into a thriving public park rooted in community vision and care.This June, Inell Woods Park officially opens—named in honor of a beloved local activist. The quarter-acre, multi-benefit park is designed to improve the quality of life for historically marginalized residents while enhancing the health of the surrounding watershed. Meredith’s persistence, creativity, and patience made this park a reality, despite major hurdles with funding, permitting, construction, and a global pandemic.

Read the full breakdown from Meredith on the story behind her, Heal the Bay, and the community’s shared labor of love, and how this space can serve as a model of hope and smart environmental planning across greater L.A.

So, how did Heal the Bay get involved in building a park in inland L.A.? 

In 2008, Heal the Bay was working deep inside Compton Creek watershed, the last major tributary to enter the Los Angeles River before it enters the Pacific Ocean. We understood that the health of our rivers and coastal ocean cannot be separated from the health of our inland neighborhoods. We were committed to showing the interconnection of communities, green space, and public health, particularly in under-resourced neighborhoods.  Our goal was to invest in areas where parks were most needed – in historically marginalized areas lacking green space, shade, and clean waterways. Through our community work, we identified a site in South L.A. that could potentially serve as a pilot for our Healthy Neighborhoods, Healthy Environments Initiative. The idea was fairly simple: build a small multi-benefit park that could achieve two goals simultaneously: make life better for residents while improving water quality in the watershed. Getting it done would prove to be much more complex. But we did it.

Tell us about the site before it was a park?

The park sits on what once was a vacant half-acre parcel of land at 87th Street and McKinley Place, owned by CalTrans. The site was riddled with broken concrete and asphalt, with only a few spindly trees. On any given day you could find abandoned desks, sofas, appliances and worn-out clothes littering the site. It was basically a trash dump. Not only a safety hazard, the eyesore became a magnet for crime and a symbol of civic neglect.

And what challenges does the surrounding community face?

The lot is surrounded by residential homes and apartments, including a large public housing complex to the southwest called Avalon Gardens. Almost 40% of residents live at or below the poverty level. In the State’s CalEnviroScreen, the neighborhood scored in the highest-impacted ranking of 91-100%. Recognizing the environmental and social challenges the community faces, we partnered with local residents to reimagine and revitalize the long-neglected lot into a space that serves their needs.

What are some of the features of this park? What makes it special for this community and the region as a whole?

The park serves as a green space, fitness area, a meeting spot, an environmental education site, and a water quality improvement project, bringing lasting benefits to a resilient and historically underserved neighborhood in Greater L.A. With exercise stations, a tot lot, shaded seating, biodiverse gardens, and a system that captures and reuses stormwater, the park is a prime example of smart water design—using green infrastructure to support both community well-being and cleaner waterways. It’s a valuable space for play, learning, and connection for kids, teens, and seniors alike. The project creates multiple benefits and distinct open spaces designed for active and passive recreation.  Equally important, it serves as a beacon of hope for the hard-working families that live in a neighborhood that hasn’t received a lot of infrastructure love or funding. 

Why is this project important to Heal the Bay from an overall water quality perspective?

It’s pretty simple: Creating more green space in individual neighborhoods improves water quality throughout all of Los Angeles County’s interconnected watersheds. In addition to providing recreation areas and wildlife habitat, green spaces can function as essential stormwater solutions by capturing and naturally cleansing polluted runoff. These multi-benefit parks improve local water quality, increase water reuse and supply, reduce carbon, and mitigate the heat island effect.

For all the “stormwater wonks” out there, can you explain how the park has been engineered?

The park is designed to capture water when it rains. This prevents polluted runoff from reaching Compton Creek and the Los Angeles River. The stormwater treatment component is the Permavoid system and has been used in several other City of L.A. parks. Permavoid is a multi-functional stormwater management system engineered to create functional and appealing stormwater capture. This system treats stormwater as a resource, rather than a waste product. The captured water will be filtered and used to irrigate the native plants and trees at the park.

How much water can the park capture and reuse?

For LID (low impact development) compliance, the requirement is to capture the 85th percentile storm, which is approximately 1 inch in 24 hours. Based on the design calculations, each storm event of 0.98 inches or more will yield approximately 20,800 gallons of captured runoff for storage in the Permavoid Planter for eventual use. We assume that five or six rain events will meet or exceed the 85th percentile storm in an average year. This would result in approximately 104,000 to 124,000 gallons of rainwater captured for reuse over the rainy season between October and April.

How did the project come together in the beginning?

In 2012 Heal the Bay won an initial $1.3 million grant to design and build the park. But the logistics of remediating an abandoned lot became far more complicated than we had ever imagined. Leasing the land from CalTrans and getting the necessary permits became almost insurmountable, but we stuck to it. Construction costs began to mount, and then the pandemic stalled the park for two years. Councilmember Curren Price Jr., who represents the neighborhood, kept the park on track though. His office helped us secure additional funds from a federal Community Block Grant. Through the efforts of L.A. County Supervisor Holly Mitchell, Accelerate Resilience LA, the Rivers and Mountains Conservancy and the Bonneville Environmental Fund, we finally secured the $3.1 million to get the park built. After years of delays, we started construction on Feb. 12, 2024.

Meredith, what was the hardest part about getting this park built?

The city bureaucracy can be mind-numbing. There isn’t a rule book or an air traffic controller to help navigate the permitting process. If it weren’t for our amazing project manager, Erin Jones, at Griffin Structures, and engineer Barbara Hall, we wouldn’t be here today.

What’s next? Can these types of projects be replicated at scale?

Inell Woods Park is a good example of how the County’s Safe Clean Water Program aims to increase local water supply, improve water quality, and protect public health by focusing efforts on multi-benefit projects in marginalized communities. Multi-benefit projects are the most efficient and effective use of our taxpayer dollars because they are cost-conscious solutions that serve both community and environmental needs.  Heal the Bay has spent decades working on smart infrastructure policies and funding measures like Measure A and W to create community-centered improvements. With commitment, we can build more parks like this throughout our region. It’s critical as climate impacts intensify and imported water supplies become more unreliable and expensive.

Why is this project important to you personally?

Inell Woods is proof that multi-benefit projects work. We can use infrastructure dollars to improve the quality of life and clean up stormwater. We aren’t going to support the environment without involving the people, too.

Who motivated you? Who did you meet along the way?

Over the 10 years it took this project to come together, we watched the neighborhood kids grow up. So many amazing families came out to support and share their hopes and dreams about this space. Jimmie Gray, Inell Woods’ daughter, was a tremendous force of love and action. She became our greatest cheerleader.

There were a couple of people that really stuck with us that made the park possible. Darryl Ford at Parks & Rec, who I really believe is the smartest man in the city, never let us down. Sherilyn Correa and Xavier Clark from CD9 sat through hours of meetings and were always willing to go the extra mile and fight to make this happen. Michael Scaduto from LA Sanitation came in later in the process but was keen on streamlining and finding solutions to our permitting and construction frustrations. The vision of this park, however, really belongs to Kendra Okonkwa at the Wisdom Academy for Young Scientists. She made us believe that change could happen in her neighborhood. Finally, I have to honor my partner through most of this, ex HTB-staffer Delaney Alamillo. Her deep love of community and commitment to “listening first” is tattooed on my heart.

 

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“Large waves at the Manhattan Beach Pier draw onlookers on Saturday. The pier was closed to the public due to the high surf.” (Mel Melcon / Los Angeles Times)


Waves of Waves in a Future of Climate Change

From the Desk of Meredith McCarthy, Director of Campaigns & Outreach and a Heal the Bay leader for over 20 years.

With almost macabre curiosity my boys and I head to Manhattan Beach last week to get a peek at the recent monster swell and watch the “gnarly” waves roll into Santa Monica Bay. I try to see the 10-foot sets through their eyes. The waves pound the beleaguered shoreline, a rolling thunder, an epic echo of Mother Nature’s raw power. The crunching swell is a formidable challenge for surfers struggling to paddle out. But as countless YouTube Nazare videos have shown, big waves are a challenge that can be tamed by humans.

LA Times image: A person standing on a sand berm watches as high surf breaks near Manhattan Beach on Thursday. The National Weather Service has issued high surf warnings for much of the West Coast and parts of Hawaii, describing the waves and rip currents expected to hit certain coastlines as potentially dangerous and life-threatening. (Richard Vogel / Associated Press)

 

I want to cling to the surfer’s narrative that these waves are gifts, a rare occurrence to be treasured. But the recent swell demonstrates that these waves are as much to be feared as cherished.

They are a preview of the future ahead of us and a reminder that a disaster can happen over decades, not just seconds. And they beg the question: can we ever really tame these waves?

Book Cover California Against the Sea houses and ocean waves

Rosanna Xia’s new book “California Against the Sea” opened my eyes as to why escalating impacts of climate change are intricately linked to the heightened severity of winter storms in the North Pacific, setting the stage for profound and harmful impacts to our beloved coast. (Purchase the book locally at Diesel Bookstore)

During my 20 years at Heal the Bay, protecting what you love has been our mantra. That mission will be harder to meet in the years to come. This recent swell is just one small harbinger of the many challenges ahead. 

The connection lies in the intricate dance between climate change and the dynamics of these storms. Warmer oceans provide the necessary energy for storms to intensify, amplifying wind speeds and precipitation rates. This, in turn, translates into more powerful and potentially devastating winter storms. 

The implications for coastal areas, such as Santa Monica Bay, extend beyond the immediate visual spectacle of towering waves. We all were held in awe and fear as we clicked on videos of eight people being toppled over by a rogue wave in Ventura and winding up in the hospital. 

The increased storm intensity poses a dual threat: First, the potential for more severe storm surges that can inundate coastal communities, and second, the exacerbation of sea level rise. As ice continues to melt and ocean temperatures climb, sea levels rise accordingly. The cumulative effect is a compounding threat to coastal communities and the regional economies they support.   

Satellite image shows a massive storm in the Pacific Ocean on December 28, 2023 generating damaging surf along California. Photo Credit: CIRA/ RAAM B/ Fox Weather.

The huge surf becomes a symbol not just of the immediate dangers but of a broader trend — one that demands strategic foresight and effective management.  Addressing the impacts of climate change requires a holistic approach that encompasses significant efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and adaptation strategies to safeguard vulnerable coastal areas.  

It can seem hopeless sometimes, but I look at my kids staring at the towering waves crashing on the sand. I wonder if they can hear the ticking of a time bomb amid the roar of the sea. I know we must act, take one small step and then bigger ones, facing this challenge head on. 

Like our volunteers, the way to keep our legs under us is to rise each day in services of positive action.  Our Heal the Bay volunteers are the village we rely upon to realize our mission – check out one of the opportunities below:

Become a Heal the Bay Volunteer – Orientation (Jan 11, 6p-8p): Take the first step toward helping Heal the Bay work for safe, healthy, clean coastal waters and watersheds. Come to our in-person Volunteer Orientation at Heal the Bay Aquarium.

Participate in the next King Tide’s Project on January 11 & 12, 2024, & February 9, 2024: The California King Tides Project helps us visualize future sea level by observing the highest tides of today. You can help by taking and sharing photos of the shoreline during King Tides to create a record of changes to our coast and estuaries. Observe and document King Tides on your own or join a scheduled group event.

Los Angeles King Tide Watch 2024 will be held at Manhattan Beach Pier Jan. 12, 8:30-9:30am at Roundhouse Aquarium. Join nature enthusiasts and scientists to document the King Tide of 2024 at the base of the Manhattan Beach Pier. More information and RSVP

Join our January Beach Cleanup (Jan 20, 10 Am – 12 PM): Heal the Bay hosts cleanups every 3rd Saturday of the month (rain or shine)!  This January’s storms are sure to make a mess of our beaches so kick-off your New Year’s Resolution by attending the next “Nothin’ But Sand Beach Cleanupon January 20, 2024, at Tower 2, Zuma Beach, 10 am – 12 pm.  Register today to reserve your bucket.

 



 From the Desk of Meredith McCarthy, Director of Campaigns & Outreach, Heal the Bay leader for over 20 years, and professional mom working hard to thrive during this busy holiday season.

From our beach cleanups to our policy work on single-use plastics, Heal the Bay is tackling the waste crisis. With the holiday season upon us, there are numerous opportunities to help protect our local waters and watersheds by going green. 

Read Part ONE of our Green Holiday Tips Guide: Sustainable Shipping Holiday Myths

Read Part TWO of our Green Holiday Tips Guide: Wrapping Paper vs. Recycling

PART THREE:  Decorating for Your Holiday Party

As you plan your open house party menu, in a perfect world, you run into the store and do the right thing by purchasing compostable disposable party supplies, such as plastic plates, cups, and utensils. Because no good deed goes unpunished, your irritating neighbor says, “Oh honey why did you pay more for those? We don’t have industrial composting in LA.” 

Wait, what? 

They are right. We don’t have industrial composting in the greater Los Angeles region.  We have organics recycling. But what about those green compost bins you see all over Santa Monica? The big push for your food waste to go into the green bin is to reduce the methane in our landfills. Industrial composting and organics recycling are both waste management practices that aim to divert organic waste from landfills. Getting (once) living materials out of landfill is a critical greenhouse gas reduction strategy. While they share the goal of managing organic waste, there are differences between the two processes. 

While both systems readily take all food and yard waste, organics recycling can only process 100% fiber based single use materials. No coatings or adhesives. If your holiday plates have a big colorful snow scene on them, they have a coating and they should go in the trash.  

While it’s true that many disposable party supplies are not easily recyclable, there are efforts to develop more environmentally friendly options and improve recycling systems. As a consumer, you can consider using alternatives such as reusable party supplies, or you can be mindful of choosing disposable items made from materials that are 100% fiber based.  Another zerowaste strategy is to ask your friends to bring their own mug or flatware instead of a hostess gift. Consider it a gift to the environment! 

Need a Last-Minute Gift for your Party Host? Give the Gift of Experience

If you are headed to a holiday party thank your host with a great gift for good. Heal the Bay has no-wrapping-required gift options for you!

For the future marine scientist in your life: Gift Heal the Bay Aquarium Winter Science Camp, perfect for kids from kindergarten to 5th grade, our Winter Sessions are open from January 2 to January 5, 2024.

For the impossible-to-shop-for Secret Santa Recipient: Give a Heal the Bay Gift card, good to use on all items in the shop, at Heal the Bay ticket events, and visits to the Heal the Bay Aquarium.

For the Animal Activist on your Gift List: Gift a Heal the Bay Aquarium Membership which includes unlimited free visits, exclusive member benefits, and valuable discounts.

 



 From the Desk of Meredith McCarthy, Director of Campaigns & Outreach, Heal the Bay leader for over 20 years, and professional mom working hard to thrive during this busy holiday season.

From our beach cleanups to our policy work on single-use plastics, Heal the Bay is tackling the waste crisis. With the holiday season upon us, there are numerous opportunities to help protect our local waters and watersheds by going green. 

Read Part ONE of our Green Holiday Tips Guide: Sustainable Shipping Holiday Myths

Read Part THREE of our Green Holiday Tips Guide: Decorating for Your Holiday Party

PART TWO:  Wrapping Paper vs. Recycling

I have memories as a child writhing in pain on Christmas morning as my mother helicoptered around us demanding we take the utmost care when opening presents. Wrapping paper in my family fell into the legacy category. Every bow was carefully peeled off and the tape slit so the paper could be reused again and again. We longed to rip open packages with reckless abandon like Ralphie in A Christmas Story. This was not a planet-saving strategy, but rather an exercise in extreme frugality (my parents having grown up in the great depression). The mantra was “waste nothing”. Back then wrapping paper was actually paper as opposed to the metallic, plastic hybrid we see in the stores today.  This new elaborate wrapping poses a challenge for an already complicated recycling process. 

Your wrapping paper is most likely not recyclable

Traditional wrapping paper often contains a mix of materials, including metallic or plastic coatings, glitter, and other embellishments. The same elements that make the paper shiny also render it difficult to recycle. That’s because shiny wrapping paper is often made with Mylar, a plastic film coated with aluminum. Don’t wishcycle. It’s going to the landfill. 

The thin and delicate nature of wrapping paper adds to its recyclability challenges. The fibers used in many wrapping papers are often shorter and of lower quality compared to those found in standard recyclable paper products. As a result, the recycling process becomes less effective, leading to lower-quality recycled material or the rejection of the paper altogether. 

If the paper weren’t challenging enough, the tape, bows, and adhesive labels contaminate recycling streams, making it harder to separate and process the materials efficiently. Those shiny stick-on bows and sparkly nylon ribbons? Unrecyclable. 

“Wrapping up” Your Green Holidays Sustainably

This year try a more sustainable approach to gift wrapping. Explore alternatives such as reusable fabric, interesting apparel like scarves from Goodwill or even creative DIY solutions like:

  • Maps 
  • Newspaper
  • Bees Wrap
  • Naturally Dyed Paper
  • Toilet Paper wrap

One of our Heal the Bay team members got creative by wrapping her gift in a Heal the Bay t-shirt!

Opting for minimalistic wrapping styles without excessive embellishments can also contribute to making gift wrapping more environmentally friendly. Try a rosemary sprig from the bush outside and a hemp or jute ribbon. The string and rosemary can go in the in the organics bin. If you can’t imagine a holiday without unwrapping gifts, try 100% recycled kraft paper. Ultimately, all the parts of your gift should tell the recipient that you care about them and their future. 

Give the Gift of Experience

Not every great gift needs a bow. Heal the Bay has no-wrapping-required gift options for you!

For the future marine scientist in your life: Gift Heal the Bay Aquarium Winter Science Camp, perfect for kids from kindergarten to 5th grade, our Winter Sessions are open from January 2 to January 5, 2024.

For the impossible-to-shop-for Secret Santa Recipient: Give a Heal the Bay Gift card, good to use on all items in the shop, at Heal the Bay ticket events, and visits to the Heal the Bay Aquarium.

For the Animal Activist on your Gift List: Gift a Heal the Bay Aquarium Membership which includes unlimited free visits, exclusive member benefits, and valuable discounts.

 



Between all the shopping, shipping, baking, and making this Winter how can anyone keep their holidays green? Check out our THREE-PART Sustainable Holiday Tips just in time to keep you on the “NICE” list this December! 

From the Desk of Meredith McCarthy, Director of Campaigns & Outreach, Heal the Bay leader for over 20 years, and professional mom working hard to thrive during this busy holiday season.

From our beach cleanups to our policy work on single-use plastics, Heal the Bay is tackling the waste crisis. We are working to end the production and use of single-use plastics to reduce harmful impacts on people, wildlife, and ecosystems. We cannot recycle our way out of this problem – we must switch to reusable alternatives or those that are truly recyclable or compostable. With the holiday season upon us, there are numerous opportunities to help protect our local waters and watersheds by going green. 

PART ONE:  Is Sustainable Shipping a Holiday Myth?


If your gift-giving season is marked by a beaten path of Amazon deliveries to your front door, here are some things to keep in mind as you sneak down the alley to your neighbor
s recycle bin because yours is full: Recyclability of shipping materials depends on the specific materials used.  

What gets recycled?

Cardboard boxes & paper packages: Cardboard boxes are widely recyclable. Most recycling programs accept cardboard. Break them down before you put them in the recycle bin.  

Plastic:  Some types of plastic, such as PET (polyethylene terephthalate) and HDPE (high-density polyethylene), are commonly recyclable. Look for recycling symbols on plastic items. The number inside the chasing arrows needs to be a #1, 2, or 5 to be accepted by most municipal recycling programs. Plastic envelopes and bubble wrap made from LDPE (low-density polyethylene) may be technically recyclable, but most curbside pickups do not accept this type of plastic film. The economics of recycling are influenced by market demand for recycled materials. If there is limited demand for recycled LDPE, recycling facilities are less motivated to invest in the necessary infrastructure and technologies to process and recycle this type of plastic. The good news is that Heal the Bay Aquarium, through our partnership with Ridwell, will take plastic film, Amazon envelopes, and bubble wrap through January.   

Styrofoam (Polystyrene): Styrofoam is rarely accepted in standard curbside recycling programs.  

Mixed: If your paper package is lined with bubble wrap it won’t recycle. The municipal system is not designed to separate the plastic from the paper. 

Foam Packing Peanuts: Not recyclable – headed to the landfill. 

Biodegradable packing peanuts: Dissolvable in water.  

One Solution, Shop local!

We know you know that by shopping locally you can avoid all of this. Set a goal and try to purchase at least half of your shopping list from local vendors.  

If you are in LA, check out our Shop Local Holiday Gift Guide for ideas from the Heal the Bay Staff.

 

Or give gifts that help protect what you love (our coastal waters and watershed) when you shop at our Heal the Bay Online Store

No time to ship? You have the option to PICK UP YOUR ORDER AT OUR OFFICE IN SANTA MONICA or you can shop all your favorite Heal the Bay Gear at the Heal the Bay Aquarium Gift Shop and Heal the Bay Welcome Center on top of the Santa Monica Pier. 

Give the Gift of Experience

Heal the Bay has no-shipping-required options too!

For the future marine scientist in your life: Gift Heal the Bay Aquarium Winter Science Camp, perfect for kids from kindergarten to 5th grade, our Winter Sessions are open from January 2 to January 5, 2024.

For the impossible-to-shop-for Secret Santa Recipient: Give a Heal the Bay Gift card, good to use on all items in the shop, at Heal the Bay ticket events, and visits to the Heal the Bay Aquarium.

For the Animal Activist on your Gift List: Gift a Heal the Bay Aquarium Membership which includes unlimited free visits, exclusive member benefits, and valuable discounts.


 

Did you enjoy Part One of our series? Check out Part TWO on Gift Wrapping vs Recycling and Part THREE on Throwing a Party Sustainably



SEPTEMBER 13, 1967 – SEPTEMBER 15, 2023

It is with a heavy heart that we mourn the passing of Mark Abramson. He was a tremendous force for nature and integral to many of Heal the Bay’s cornerstone programs.  Mark was a wonderful character with an extraordinary record of accomplishments and accolades.

But rather than simply listing them here, we are turning today’s blog over to Mark Gold, former president and CEO of Heal the Bay.  Mark joins us to describe “Abe”, as he was affectionately called, and his incredible influence and work to mold the Heal the Bay we are today. In the words of Mark Gold:

“In the mid 1990’s, Mark came to me at Heal the Bay as an accounting student at Pepperdine.  He was ‘bored out of his skull’ and wanted to do something to help out the Bay.  And he expressed a strong dislike of polluters because of what they had done to the Bay, creeks and rivers that he grew up in.  So, as the nurturing soul that you all know me to be, I gave him a horrible task as an intern – to review stormwater permit annual reports for all 88 cities in the County and to write a report on their compliance status.  Any normal person would have tapped out and bailed on such a task.  Abe stayed for another 12 years!!  After his internship, he went on to get his master’s degree in landscape architecture from Cal Poly Pomona.  That was a commute.  One of the cool and innovative parts of their master’s program was that you had to complete a group project thesis for a client: in this case – Heal the Bay.  Abe being Abe, he got his three partners including Eileen Takata, a mainstay as the watershed and EJ conscience at the Army Corps, to work on the project.  In typical audacious fashion, Abe got the team to create the Malibu Creek Watershed StreamTeam, which turned into the premier volunteer watershed monitoring program in the state.  The comprehensive program had monthly water quality monitoring for nutrients, fecal indicator bacteria (FIB), pH, dissolved oxygen (DO) and other contaminants, sediment macroinvertebrate biodiversity sampling, and the most audacious component – mapping the entire Malibu Creek and its tributaries for physical changes and stream health in the creek.  They mapped all the creeks in a 109 square mile watershed.

Every time you are in this watershed, thank Mark.  That data was instrumental in so many environmental wins.  He treated this watershed as if it was a family member.  He did anything and everything for it.  StreamTeam data led to pollutant and discharge reductions from the Tapia water recycling facility.  Thanks Abe. As the eyes and ears of the watershed, Abe provided critical information that led to multiple enforcement actions at the Coastal Commission and the Regional Water Board.  Thanks Abe. Ahmanson Ranch never would have been saved without him.  First of all, he convinced me that we needed to make this supposed “lost cause” a Heal the Bay priority.  This was after he mapped the creeks on the parcel in a clandestine manner – I remember his excitement about the red legged frogs’ grotto like it was yesterday.  Then we had to convince our board to oppose a development for the first time in organizational history!  The end result was partnering with Mary Weisbrock, Mati Waiya, Ventura County, Rob Reiner, Chad Griffin, Chris Albrecht and many others to stop the destruction of the headwaters of the Malibu Creek watershed – 10,000 people and 2 golf courses.  Thanks Abe.  And thanks Governor Davis for investing $150M for the permanent preservation of the Ranch. All those steelhead migration barriers removed in Solstice, Malibu Creek and other locales, nature based BMPs built, 101 wildlife underpass landscaped, and tens of acres of riparian habitats restored. Thanks Abe.

And thanks Mike Rowe and Dirty Jobs for highlighting Abe’s work.   And finally – Malibu Lagoon.  Or Mark’s Lagoon as he viewed it.  From restoration design, to nature-based parking lot construction to the CEQA process to withstanding mean-spirited, vitriolic opposition, to construction, to planting to monitoring.  Abe was leading every step of the way at Heal the Bay, LA Waterkeeper and the Bay Foundation.  Magnificent work.  Thank you, Abe.

But Abe was so much more than a landscape architect and practicing restoration ecologist.  He was a larger-than-life figure with an irreverent sense of humor, a loud, booming voice, infectious laugh, enormous stubborn streak, strong ethics, generous spirit, opinions about everything, and tireless dedication.  Mark Abramson was a doer, not a talker. He could spot BS from a mile away.  And then he’d call it out.  As his boss, he was unmanageable, but with all he accomplished, who cares?  And his army of volunteers were as dedicated and loyal as he was.

Former LA Times journalist and Pulitzer Prize winner, Kenneth R. Weiss, summed up Abe in a profile article as, “Nothing seems to intimidate this espresso-guzzling, Marlboro-smoking, Altoid popping eco-cop in cargo shorts. Not the poison oak or stinging nettles that block his path to the creek. Not slogging through tainted water. Not accusations of trespassing (from the former Ahmanson Ranch development team) when he follows the creek to someone’s property.” Abe – we miss you.  I’ll miss you yelling out “Goldie!!”.  We will all miss that big laugh.  We will miss sharing a beer and reminiscing about the good fight. We will miss your F-bombs and passion for protecting Santa Monica Bay and the Santa Monicas.  We’ll miss your inimitable style of a broad brimmed hat, cargo shorts, a T, wool socks and hiking boots. We will miss that big heart.  But we will remember you always – every time we set foot in Ahmanson Ranch or Malibu Lagoon. Abe’s Lagoon.”

 

READ MORE ABOUT THE LIFE AND LEGACY OF MARK ABRAMSON

The Acorn-Conservation icon is memorialized in Malibu

Los Angeles TIMES -Mark Abramson, towering figure who helped shape L.A.-area environment, dies at 56

UPSTRACT -Mark Abramson, towering figure who helped shape L.A.-area environment, dies at 56

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 



(From left) Jeff Williams, Andrea Kabwasa, and Rick Blocker attend Nick Gabaldón Day at Bay Street Beach — June 18, 2022.

CELEBRATING OUR 10TH YEAR in partnership with Black Surfers Collective (BSC) and The Surf Bus Foundation, we only have to thank Rick Blocker. For over 50 years Rick has been a powerful advocate for diversity and inclusion in surfing. Rick is an original member of the Black Surfing Association.

Fifteen years ago Heal the Bay had a table next to BSC at community resource fair at the Crenshaw Mall. I had the privilege of meeting him then. We got to talking about beach access and how to diversify the beach. He told me about what the Collective had started with Nick Gabaldón Day. I told him, Heal the Bay has an Aquarium, bus money, and a lot to learn. He said, “your hired”.

He arranged a meeting with African American historian Alison Rose Jefferson as well as Jeff Williams and Greg Rachal from the Black Surfers Collective, and the rest is a joyous history. I am eternally grateful and humbled to stand with this group.

Check out more photos and stories from Nick Gabaldón Day 2022.

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Nick Gabaldón Day celebrates the incredible life and legacy of the first documented surfer of color in the Santa Monica Bay. Gabaldón (1927-1951) was a pioneering surfer of African American and Mexican American descent whose passion, athleticism, discipline, love, and respect for the ocean live on as the quintessential qualities of the California surfer.  This year, Black Surfers Collective, Heal the Bay, Surf Bus Foundation, Santa Monica Conservancy, Color the Water, and devoted community members gathered at the Historic Bay Street Beach to honor these tenets followed by a screening of Wade in the Water and story time at Heal the Bay Aquarium.

Join us in sending a big wave of thanks to our 2022 sponsors:

Thanks to the Tuesday Night Ultimate Frisbee Group affiliated with LA Throwback Foundation, folks that are interested promoting civic engagement and history through sports, for funding support of Nick Gabaldón Day.


Written By Meredith McCarthy. Heal the Bay’s long time Programs Director has recently shifted to the Director of Operations. Meredith now oversees the organizational health and wellbeing of all programs and staff. As an avid scuba diver she has seen firsthand what putting too much in, taking too much out and ignoring the edge of the ocean has done to our coastal systems.




Image from STAND-L.A. Facebook page

Meredith McCarthy, Operations Director at Heal the Bay, highlights the STAND-L.A. coalition and why the City of LA must take action now to protect public health and the environment, including investing in good green jobs, protecting our children’s health, buffering communities and phasing out fossil fuels.

The STAND-L.A. coalition is urging Los Angeles City Hall to take action by implementing public health protection measures, including a 2,500-foot setback between active oil wells and sensitive land uses, such as homes, schools, places of work and medical facilities. The coalition, led by Physicians for Social Responsibility and Communities for a Better Environment, seeks to phase out neighborhood drilling in order to protect the health and safety of Angelenos on the front lines of oil extraction. Low-income neighborhoods are exposed to disproportionate health and safety risks due to a history of abundant drilling within close proximity to where residents live, work and go about daily life.

Heal the Bay proudly stands in solidarity with STAND-L.A. Oil extraction is simply incompatible with healthy neighborhoods, thriving oceans and a sustainable future for our planet.

We know firsthand that fighting Big Oil is a heavy lift. Years ago, Heal the Bay helped lead a coalition that defeated a slant drilling oil project under the sea in Hermosa Beach. Now, we cannot sit back satisfied that we prevented an oil rig in the ocean only to see it turn up in a neighborhood.

We joined the STAND-L.A. coalition at City Hall on Tuesday, October 15 for the Energy, Climate Change, and Environmental Justice Committee hearing. The Committee reviewed the City’s Petroleum Administrator’s feasibility report on the proposed setbacks between oil sites and sensitive land uses. The report suggested a 600-foot setback for existing oil and gas wells and a 1,500-foot setback for new wells. Coalition members argued this doesn’t go far enough, and rightly so.

Having lived through many environmental policy campaigns—where industries claimed that our economy would collapse and jobs would be lost if we banned plastic bags, cleaned up stormwater or prevented sewage from dumping into the Bay—I expected a similar argument to justify continuing to drill. So I was not surprised as I listened to testimony at City Hall that the pressing issue of drilling in our neighborhoods, once again, was being framed as a binary debate between “good jobs” versus “healthy neighborhoods”.

The coalition argued that this foolish debate will never be won by prioritizing one issue over the other. Environmental and public health risks won’t be solved either. We can only make progress by thinking about the issue holistically – investing in good green jobs now weans us off our harmful addiction to oil. Protecting our children’s health now leads to a more equitable future. Buffering communities now builds a more resilient LA. Phasing out fossil fuels now creates new job and economic opportunities… and not to mention a more sustainable planet that’s facing increasingly severe impacts from climate change.

Time and time again, Los Angeles has made bold moves to protect public and environmental health. But, what happens when cities can’t afford to buy a healthy environment from oil drilling lease holders to protect its residents, or worse, cities choose to ignore the damage being done? This is the question that the City of LA is grappling with. Will we invest in long-term sustainability or will city leaders be tempted by temporary job gains and the promise of future revenue?

It’s important to make the connection to plastics here, too. What do plastics and fossil fuels have in common, you ask? The plastics industry uses as much oil as aviation. So when we think about oil drilling in neighborhoods, we must also think about why we are drilling there in the first place.

The more cheap energy and cheap plastic material we use, the more waste we generate and the greater the environmental costs. The search for profit has turned a blind eye to the burdens and costs of poor air and water quality that low-resourced neighborhoods must carry.

Plastics use is expected to quadruple by 2050. In 30 years, the weight of plastics is likely to outweigh that of fish in our ocean. Plastic waste is already having a profound impact on oceans and marine life. It is found inside animals throughout the ocean food chain, from mussels to sea turtles to whales, and is likely to end up in the human food chain. These are the conclusions from a new report released at Davos by the World Economics Forum, the Ellen MacArthur Foundation and consultancy firm McKinsey.

Environmental costs translate directly into economic costs. We can’t afford inaction and we can’t ignore the negative impacts on our communities, from blight to toxic air.

Please take a second to call or email your City Council representative and demand good jobs AND a healthy neighborhood. Insist that our region start working toward not just a new economy, but a new generative economy. A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step and a 2,500-foot setback.

Follow STAND L.A. on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram and watch this hashtag for updates #NoDrillingWhereWereLiving.



Meredith McCarthy, our Operations Director, is going plastic-free for 46 days. Pray for her soul.

Each year my faith tradition gives me the gift of a 46-day reflection period called Lent. I think of it as a spring cleaning of the soul. The season starts today, Ash Wednesday. The ashes are a sign of repentance, humility and mortality. Through the placement of the ashes on the forehead, believers acknowledge we have failed to be agents of love. We acknowledge our sins and work towards renewal.

Fasting is also big part of Lent. Going without feasts has its roots in early Christian tradition. As a child in Chicago, I’d often have to give up candy, making it a truly miserable month. I thought about giving up my nightly glass of wine this Lent, for a moment. Nah, let’s not go crazy, I thought.

But divine inspiration came from appropriate places this year – the Creation Care teams at Holy Family in Pasadena and American Martyrs in Manhattan Beach. I had been asked by the Catholic congregations to give a talk about plastic’s impact on our oceans. The parishes are encouraging their congregants to go on a Styrofoam fast and give up single-use plastic for lent. It’s part of a larger movement taking place across many faith communities.

As Director of Operations at Heal the Bay, I have stood hundreds of times ankle deep in plastic on our beach. It’s moved me to tears at times. You can see what I discovered recently on Santa Monica beaches after the first winter storm in this video.

All this plastic waste laying siege to our shorelines doesn’t happen by accident. It’s the sad byproduct of our daily “feast” of convenience. As a working mother of two, I too often partake in this feast. I am busy and tired most of the time. Using the handy excuse of harried motherhood, I have tried to absolve myself. But my faith and my planet require more. There may be no better way to renew my relationship with Mother Earth than to take responsibility for my lifestyle and the harm it may cause.

“We cannot allow our seas and oceans to be littered by endless fields of floating plastic,” Pope Francis said in Laudato Si, his major encyclical on the environment. “Our active commitment is needed to confront this emergency.”

So in order to be an agent of love, my family and I are giving up single-use plastic for the next 46 days. We have our metal sporks, plates and reusable coffee cups ready to go. I still have to  Google “how to shave legs with a safety razor,” but that’s a story for another day.

Stay tuned. I will be sharing my trials and tribulations. I’ll be toting a lot of reusable items for the family with me now. I think we’re going to need a bigger handbag!