Heal the Bay Blog

Category: Santa Monica

Santa Monica, California located in Los Angeles County is a popular eco-friendly coastal destination for families, couples, tourists and Southern California beachgoers.

Schools Get a Kick Out of Recycling

04.25.2012 | Heal the Bay

April 25, 2012

Today’s guest blogger is Melissa Aguayo, speakers bureau manager at Heal the Bay

We are in the middle of the second week of Chivas USA’s Recycling Competition in which Castelar Elementary and Glassel Park Elementary duke it out to see which school can fill up the most recycle bins in two weeks.

Heal the Bay has once again teamed up with Chivas USA, the City of Los Angeles Bureau of Sanitation and the Aquarium of the Pacific to help get kids aware and excited about recycling.

We kicked off the competition with some educational and fun assemblies, which hosted a number of special, surprise guests including Chivas USA players Michael Lahoud and Rauwshan McKenzie, the ChivaFighter, the aquarium’s Ray mascot and the notorious ChicoBag Monster!

Both elementary schools will earn incredible prizes just for participating, such as tickets to a Chivas USA game. The winning school will get to join us for one of our fieldtrips out on the beach, as well as some cool prizes to raffle off like signed jerseys and even an Xbox.

Glassel Park Elementary is currently in the lead with 40 bins total…in just one week! However, Castelar Elementary is not far behind with 30 bins full and they still have an entire week to catch up. Check back next week to see which school will win the Recycling Champ title.

Learn more about our Healthy Neighborhoods, Healthy Environment initiative.

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Aloha to a Coastal Champion

04.24.2012 | Heal the Bay

Malibu / Pacific Palisades Santa Monica South Bay

April 24, 2012

Today’s blogger is Sarah Sikich, Heal the Bay’s coastal resources director

Last week we lost a local coastal champion, Joe Melchione, to his fight with lung cancer. Joe was a dedicated environmental activist, friend, and talented surfer. He will be deeply missed.

I first met Joe at a Los Angeles Regional Water Quality Control Board hearing, where the permit for Tapia wastewater treatment plant in the Malibu area was up for renewal. He spoke with fervor before the Water Board regarding his concerns about the threat bacterial pollution at Surfrider Beach poses to surfers and beachgoers. His engagement on water quality issues in the Malibu Creek Watershed over the years helped influence Tapia’s dry weather discharge permit; the development of pollution limits for bacteria, nutrients, trash in the watershed; and other coastal issues in the area.

A member of the Malibu Surfing Association, Joe had a fiery passion for the environment and was a joy to work with. He could always find the humorous side of a frustrating situation.

Joe’s passion was well-recognized and a great influence within the Heal the Bay community. A few years ago, he purchased a table at Heal the Bay’s Bring Back the Beach, but instead of filling it with personal friends, he generously invited fellow volunteers (many of whom could not afford to purchase a ticket) to join him as guests at the event. In hearing of his passing, many of these volunteers and several people I’ve talked with have reflected on how much they enjoyed working alongside Joe to improve our local environment. He was fun to surf with, too. I hope his spirit lives on in all the people and places he affected.

The MSA has established a memorial fund to honor Joe. 100% of contributions will be donated in accordance with his family’s wishes. Your contributions are tax-deductible to the full extent allowed by law (#95-4459007).

Please make checks payable to MSA and mail to:

THE JOE MELCHIONE MEMORIAL FUND
Malibu Surfing Association
P.O. Box 2683
Malibu, CA 90265

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Ralphs Co. Supports Clean Oceans

04.19.2012 | Heal the Bay

Marina del Rey / Playa del Rey Santa Monica Venice Beach

To help celebrate Earth Day, Heal the Bay will partner with Ralphs Grocery Company to provide resources for Coastal Cleanup Day, the Santa Monica Pier Aquarium and a Heal the Bay activity guide highlighting ways to for kids to prevent marine pollution in their communities.

Representatives from Ralphs will present Heal the Bay staff with a $25,000 donation on Earth Day, Saturday, April 21 at the Santa Monica Pier Aquarium at 10:30 a.m.

Ralphs has long supported Heal the Bay’s environmental initiatives, sponsoring the annual Coastal Cleanup Day, as well as A Day Without a Bag, an education event to encourage Angelenos to forgo single-use plastic shopping bags in favor of reusable ones.

The retailer is among several Southern California corporations that have chosen to partner with Heal the Bay to support one of our science, education or community action programs. If your company is interested in fulfilling their philanthropic goals by supporting a similar program or in sponsoring a companywide beach cleanup, please contact Development Manager Kate Nevels by phone at 310-451-1500 x159 or email.

Learn more.

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As Seas Warm, Essential Micro Plants Could Decline

04.18.2012 | Heal the Bay

Climate Change Long Beach / Avalon Malibu / Pacific Palisades Marina del Rey / Playa del Rey Palos Verdes Peninsula Santa Monica South Bay Venice Beach

Phytoplankton (a.k.a. tiny marine plants) produce half the planet’s food and there are signs that their numbers are plummeting as the seas warm, according to a recent article in the magazine New Scientists.

“[Phytoplankton] are a big part of the planet’s life-support system. If phytoplankton decline, that threatens the food base of a vast part of the biosphere,” says Dalhousie University marine biologist Boris Worm, who’s researching decades of data. “There’s less fuel in the tank of the machinery of life, and you just don’t get as far.”

The abundance of phytoplankton appears to be on the decline since the 1940’s, according to satellite readings of phytoplankton conducted by Dr. Worm and Oregon State University Professor Michael Behrenfeld. The authors point to ocean warming that is increasing stratification of waters and reducing access to nutrients from the deeper waters for the creatures that depend on these nutrients for survival.

Learn more about Heal the Bay’s climate change initiatives.

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Rain Barrel Rebates, Get 'Em While You Can

04.18.2012 | Heal the Bay

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

What better way to celebrate the 42^nd Earth Day than by getting your very own rain barrel? Harvesting rainwater protects the ocean from urban runoff and conserves potable water.

Rain barrel rebates are offered in several communities including Santa Monica, Burbank and the Foothill Municipal Water District. Through a partnership with Rain Barrels Intl, you can purchase a rain barrel for $100 on April 21. That’s $50-$75 off the retail price. Reserve your barrel(s) here.

Saturday, April 21 Pick-up Locations:

Westside: Mar Vista Green Garden Showcase – The Windward Garden 11350 Palms Blvd. – 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. (location map).

Eastside: Burbank Recycling Center Earth Day Family Fair – 500 South Flower Street – 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. (location map)

This is a fundraiser for Sustainable Works; $25 of each rain barrel is tax-deductible.

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Win a Free Week of Summer Camp

04.09.2012 | Heal the Bay

Heal the Bay Aquarium Malibu / Pacific Palisades Marina del Rey / Playa del Rey Santa Monica

Enter the “My Perfect Ocean” art and writing contest and win free enrollment to a Heal the Bay summer science camp.

This contest is open to three age categories from Kindergarten up to high school age. Entries must be received by May 15.

The “My Perfect Ocean” contest is being held in honor of World Oceans Day, an annual, international celebration of the ocean and the life it contains. The contest winners will be announced on World Oceans Day, June 9 at the Aquarium, 1600 Ocean Front Walk, beach level, beneath the carousel at the Santa Monica Pier.

The theme of this year ‘s celebration is “Youth: the Next Wave of Change.” Five- to eight-year-olds (kindergarten through second graders) are asked to draw their idea of a perfect ocean; eight- to 11-year-olds (third through fifth graders) should submit a short essay describing what makes a perfect ocean. High school age kids are asked to submit a 250-word essay depicting the perfect ocean as well as ways you can help make that ocean a reality. A picture, video, or other art piece should also demonstrate a portion of the essay.

First prize in the five-eight-year-old and eight-to 11-year-old age categories is paid registration for a week of Summer Science Adventure Camp. In its second year, this popular camp program is full of hands-on, marine science summer camp, offered June through August.

First prize for high school age kids is one week of paid registration to Heal the Bay’s Summer Creek Institute, a week-long exploration of our local watersheds, giving high school student the chance to discover the creeks and riverbeds that lead to our ocean.

Details and instructions for entering the contest can be found on the website at: www.healthebay.org. Learn more about camp registration at healthebay.org/camp

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The Power to Make Wishes Come True

04.06.2012 | Heal the Bay

Heal the Bay Aquarium More Ways to Give Santa Monica

Today’s guest blogger is Nick Fash, an education specialist at the Santa Monica Pier Aquarium.

What do you get when you share the underwater world and all of its amazing life to 75,000 visitors and 15,000 students a year? Lots of broken things.

At Heal the Bay’s public marine education facility, the Santa Monica Pier Aquarium, it’s a fact of life that the constant use of our projectors, DVD players, cameras and other items eventually leads to their demise. And while it is our passion and goal to show each and every visitor, child or adult, as much as we can about the amazing life just steps from our door in the Santa Monica Bay — there is only so much space our intimate facility offers to accomodate and house our local marine life. So, using photography, video and other interactive displays helps us share so much more of what is right in our back yard.

Having served as a valuable community resource for the past nine years, we are now turning to the community to ask our neighbors and fans to help us in replacing some of the critical equipment that keep our public education programs running. To see what items members in our community might be able to donate to us, we are starting a Heal the Bay Wishlist program.

That old iPad which you just upgraded? We would love it. The projector you no longer need at the office? Yes please!

To see if there is an item you no longer need that would help us run our programs better, take a look at our list below:

Web Cams (live feeds of exhibits and special tanks)
Windows or Apple Computers or Laptops (systems for use by interns and volunteers)
iPads (tablets for surveying, data collection, display of material and even sign usage)
Projectors
DVD players
Paint Supplies/Painting Services (new paint needed for Santa Monica Pier Aquarium’s exterior and interior)
New/Used Vehicles (a truck with 4-wheel drive for dive and facility equipment transport)
ROV (for underwater research)

To donate to the Heal the Bay Wishlist program, call Nick at 310.393.6149 x108 or send Nick an e-mail.

See where your donation goes, visit our Aquarium.

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One Little Lost Crab

04.05.2012 | Heal the Bay

Heal the Bay Aquarium Santa Monica

Today’s blogger is Tara Crow, our Aquarium’s public programs manager.

I took a quick pause from my other work duties this morning to find something fun and exciting to post on the Aquarium’s Facebook Wall. Checking around, it seemed like a quiet news day on the marine science front and I was struggling with my task. Staff member and education specialist Amanda Jones walked into the office to stretch her legs when she noticed something funny walking by outside.

“Is that a crab?” she asked. Sure enough, a rogue, striped shore crab had somehow found its way, a quarter mile from the pier pilings where it should be living, to the front of our Aquarium. Coincidentally, Amanda had arrived at just the right moment to see the crab walking by our office.

One Lost Little Crab in front of the Santa Monica Pier Aquarium

One lost little crab rescued from in front of the Aquarium

The crab was stalking along in the open area next to a busy footpath and the pier deck stairs that has been getting quite a bit of traffic during the spring break rush. A few of us decided to go out to check on the little crab. Striped shore crabs can spend days out of water if they’re not exposed to direct sun and this crab appeared to be in good shape, other than being totally covered in dirt and dust. I grabbed the crab (who turned out to be a female), brought her inside and placed her in a beaker of salt water to clean her off. She seems to be doing just fine now. Our best guess as to how she made it to the front of the Aquarium is that either she was dropped by a bird, or someone had pulled her from a pier piling.

As a happy ending to the story, the once-lost crab is now safe and sound in the Aquarium and will be making herself at home in our touch tanks where she will be well fed and kept safely away from predators. Be sure to stop by and meet our newest crustacean local and help us come up with a name for this little rescuee.

Plan your next visit now.

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L.A. Moves Forward on Bag Ban

04.04.2012 | Heal the Bay

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

Today the Los Angeles City Council’s Energy and Environment Committee took a bold step towards a double-ban on single-use plastic and paper bags. The Committee’s unanimous recommendation, led by Councilmember Paul Kortez, would require a phased, three-step approach: for the first six months a ban would be enacted for plastic bags only, then for the following six months a 10 cent charge would be placed on paper bags and finally, after 12 months, there would be an outright ban on both single-use plastic and paper bags.

Testimony from the city’s Board of Public Works helped to debunk claims from bag manufacturers that the ban would create job losses. If enacted, L.A.’s ban would be one of the most-far reaching measures in the nation.

This decision should embolden other cities, counties and states nationwide to take action. The Committee’s move highlights that the time has come to eliminate plastic pollution at its source in order to protect our environment and economy. The progress made today is very gratifying for Heal the Bay, as we have been leading the charge in Southern California to rid our neighborhoods, rivers, beaches and ocean of plastic trash for over two decades.

The full City Council is expected to vote on this measure in the next two weeks. After the policy direction passes the full Council, the city will need to conduct an environmental review.

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L.A. Times Supports Bag Ban

04.04.2012 | Heal the Bay

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

Heal the Bay has been leading the fight to end the fiscal and environmental waste created by single-use shopping bags for five years. So we were heartened today to see the Los Angeles Times’ editorial board urging the Los Angeles City Council to adopt its long-gestating ban. An excerpt is printed below:

L.A.’s delay in banning single-use, carry-out plastic bags has put it behind dozens of other municipalities in the state. With a recycling rate of only 5%, the bags are an environmental menace that we can easily do without.

When the city of Los Angeles held off three years ago on banning single-use, carry-out plastic bags, it missed a chance to be at the forefront of environmentally responsible lawmaking in California. By the time it inexplicably delayed a vote again in December, close to 20 cities as well as Los Angeles County had prohibited stores from providing the bags. And since then, the bags have been banned in more than two dozen additional municipalities in the state.

More important, in the last three years tens of millions of plastic carry-out bags — possibly hundreds of millions — have been distributed in Los Angeles. Statewide, only about 5% of them are generally recycled. They snag on trees and bushes in the wilderness and are washed down waterways to the ocean. They are the second most common trash item found on beaches, and contribute to the giant floating garbage patch in the Pacific.

The City Council’s Energy and Environment Committee should waste no more time. It should approve a ban for the full council to consider.