County residents will gather at local beaches 9 a.m.-noon Saturday, Sept. 15, for Coastal Cleanup Day, an international day of volunteer action. The statewide event is presented by the California Coastal Commission.
Coastal Cleanup Day offers community members a chance to unite and make a stand for healthy beaches from Guadalupe to Carpinteria. Pre-registration is not required, but is encouraged.
All participants who register before the event will be entered in the Ocean Lovers’ Raffle with prizes from Patagonia, REI, A Frame Surf Shop, Santa Barbara Sailing Center, Mountain Air Sports, Okeanos Swim, Paddle Sports, Surf Happens, Surf N Wear, and the Boathouse Restaurant.
To register, visit CoastalCleanupDaySB.EventBrite.com.
Last year 1,089 Santa Barbara County volunteers picked up 4,635 lbs. of trash and 1,433 lbs. of recyclables.
The Corvus Skull Pirates will be among volunteers cleaning up East Beach at the Garden Street/Chase Palm area. Volunteers will be greeted by beach captain and Corvus Skull Pirate Mike Whitney and crew in full pirate regalia.
“As a pirate, I’m naturally drawn to anything with captain in the title, and a clean beach is much easier for a pirate to storm,” said Whitney, who has been a beach captain for two years.
“This will only be my second year as a site captain and my third year of knowing about and participating in the event,” he said.
“I like Coastal Cleanup Day because it’s a huge effort, hitting so many beaches at once, and feels so much more impactful than one beach getting cleaned up at a time,” he said.
“I like the organization and data tracking and the sense that a difference is actually being made,” he said.
“My crew and I are a group of martial arts teachers, students, and enthusiasts who use our skill sets to perform as entertainers. Community service is a very important tenet within the philosophies we follow as martial artists.” Whitney said.
Volunteers can visit their favorite beach, sign in with the beach captain there, and start their cleanup. Volunteers of all ages can participate at any of the 2018 sites:
Arroyo Burro Beach
Butterfly Beach
Carpinteria Creeks
Carpinteria State Beach
East Beach- Anacapa Street
East Beach- Garden St.
East Beach- Volleyball Courts
El Capitan
Ellwood Beach
Gaviota State Beach
Goleta Beach
Guadalupe Dunes
Hammond’s Beach
Haskell’s Beach
Hollister Ranch
Isla Vista Streets
Jelly Bowl Beach
Jalama Beach
Leadbetter Beach
Lookout Park
Refugio State Beach
Rincon County Beach (Bates)
Santa Claus Lane
Smugglers Cove (Channel Islands)
Tajiguas Beach
West Beach
Zanja De Cota Creek
For more information, visit ExploreEcology/Coastal-Cleanup-Day.org or call Jill, 805-884-0459 ext. 13.
In Santa Barbara County, the event is organized by Explore Ecology, with the support of the County of Santa Barbara Resource Recovery and Waste Management and the cities of Santa Barbara and Goleta and with the help of nonprofits, businesses and individuals.
— Jill Cloutier for Explore Ecology.