Heal the Bay Blog

On Saturday evening, I drove from Santa Monica to Santa Ana. If you know me at all, you know this in and of itself was a huge feat, as I hate to drive. But some things are worth driving for and PBS SoCal’s A Lifetime of Learning Gala was one of those things.

Last year, Heal the Bay was chosen as one of PBS SoCal’s Community Champions for our educational programs that encourage engagement in learning, and, amidst the chaos of April 2012’s Earth Month, PBS SoCal filmed this lovely PSA about Heal the Bay’s educational impact.

The official award presentation was on Saturday evening, and we were honored amidst so many other effective individuals and organizations. For me personally, having spent the past 7 ½ years managing Heal the Bay’s environmental education programs, it was very rewarding to have these programs acknowledged by such an amazing organization and leader in education itself – PBS SoCal.

Most people know Heal the Bay for our cleanups and tabling events, but we also educate thousands of students every year, introducing them to our rivers, creeks and ocean, helping them to look at our natural world through a scientific lens, and inspiring a conservation ethic. People often assume that we only educate people living coastally, but we strive to provide opportunities for every student whether they live right on the beach or many miles inland to learn about our coastal resources and the ways they can become active stewards of them.

There are few experiences more rewarding than taking a child to the beach for the first time, leading them down the sand (“Teacher! It moves – the ground moves!”), and having them look out, not at buildings and roads, but at the ocean horizon, stretching for miles. Our educational programs do this and other similarly inspiring moments all of the time, so to be acknowledged for it was hugely rewarding.

A heartfelt thank you to PBS SoCal for honoring Heal the Bay for our educational work! And for letting me fulfill a childhood fantasy of having my photo taken with Big Bird! It was definitely worth the drive.

— Tara Treiber

Education Director, Heal the Bay

Three elephant seal pups now reside in the Santa Monica Mountains, checking into a newly-constructed rehabilitation facility at the California Wildlife Center that was built in only three weeks.

According to the Malibu Times, the 100-lb. pups were transported in vans from the Marine Mammal Center in San Pedro to the new shelter in Malibu Canyon.

In an email to supporters, California Wildlife Center Executive Director Marcella Bell reported: “All three of these young and severely underweight animals have been receiving medical care and treatment from our friends at Marine Mammal Care Center/Ft. MacArthur.  Now that they have arrived at CWC, we will continue the work that Marine Mammal Care started and prepare these animals for release back to their ocean home!

“This extra space, and our enhanced ability to care for Northern Elephant Seals in need, will subsequently free up much needed animal care space in Southern California as every attempt is made to care for the hundreds of sick and dying California Sea Lions on our local beaches.”

Bell credited the “outpouring of support” the CWC received since the rescue group began working to accommodate the massive influx of sickly California sea lion pups, which have been stranding on local beaches in record numbers this year.

Heal the Bay staff would like to thank our supporters—including The Waitt Foundation and California Community Foundation – for rallying to care for these animals in need.

 View photos of the new enclosures on the California Wildlife Center’s Facebook page.

Pictured: “Waitt” (left), rescued at Point Dume Beach on April 18; “Code Blue” (middle) rescued at Cabrillo Beach on April 25; and “Roy” (right) rescued at Will Rogers Beach on April 20.

We may live on opposite coasts, but pollution runoff affects us all and Marylanders did something about it.

In 2012, Maryland passed legislation that would require the city of Baltmore and the state’s nine largest counties to implement stormwater pollution fees to raise revenue to clean up the Chesapeake Bay, serving up some lessons that we can apply here in Los Angeles as we work on our own Clean Water, Clean Beaches measure.

Since its passage at the state level, Maryland’s counties have either approved, or are working to approve, fees their officials find fair for homeowners and businesses…stirring up plenty of debate along the way. In fact, what opponents have termed the “rain tax,” has thrust the mid-Atlantic state’s water pollution solution into the national spotlight. (A similar program was recently enacted in Philadelphia, resulting in a 25-year “Green City, Clean Waters” plan)

An April 16 op-ed in the Baltimore Sun argued in favor of the new fees and disputed the “rain tax” moniker:

“This isn’t merely about protecting the bay (although that alone would justify the program) but also about protecting the health of freshwater drinking supplies and preventing local flooding, two issues that should strike most Marylanders pretty close to home. …We aren’t taxing rain, we’re taxing the pollution all of us generate, however unintentionally. The rain is just the vehicle by which that pollution is swept away.”

We Angelenos can relate, as we import drinkable water and dare not swim in the ocean too soon after a rainfall, so as not to be sickened by pollution runoff. Flooding is also a potential result of climate change here in Southern California.

Which is why we’re working on funding projects that capture and filter rainwater through the passage of the Clean Water Clean Beaches measure, keeping runoff pollution out of our waterways and bolstering groundwater supplies, which could eventually be used for drinking water.

The L.A. County Board of Supervisors put the measure on hold in March, but we at Heal the Bay remain hard at work to keep it as strong as possible. The consequences of not doing anything are just too dire.

Concerned about sustainable water supply in Los Angeles? So are we. Contact your Los Angeles County supervisor to support the “Clean Water, Clean Beaches” measure.

Artist Erik Abel first volunteered with Heal the Bay at a Nothin’ But Sand beach cleanup in January 2012 where he was treated to a special tour of our Santa Monica Pier Aquarium. There, he found inspiration in the Aquarium’s “shark eggs and funky jellyfish” and realized he wanted to get more involved with our organization. Clean and healthy oceans have always been important to the California native, so partnering with Heal the Bay seemed an obvious choice.

“The ocean is my sanctuary, and I want to do my part to help it stay healthy,” Abel said. “Heal the Bay is a great organization that makes a difference. I’m stoked to work with them and contribute to their cause as a Heal the Bay 2013 Partner Artist.”

As our partner artist, Abel has created stunning artwork accompanying our Bring Back the Beach gala, including the invitation and a mural on display at the event. He will also donate an original painting to the gala’s silent auction and release prints after the event in May.