COAST 4 U QUARTERLY

Issue No. 2                                       
Fall 2010
Dear Friend,

Happy Fall!
 
Summer flew by! As the leaves begin to turn, and those long summer days get shorter and shorter, I look back on some summer highlights - including the biggest beach (and waterway) party of the year - California Coastal Cleanup Day. In addition to breaking our attendance record set last year, this year our one millionth volunteer participated in the event. Since everyone arrives more or less at the same time, we don't know who that person is, but clearly they are in good company! This year, we also broke a record for miles cleaned - we cleaned 2,600 linear miles and picked up more than one million pounds of trash, including a dead cow in a bag on Putah Creek in Yolo County. This won our most unusual item contest - you don't see those very often...
 
Turning to a more somber subject (with all due respect to cows), in the wake the Gulf Oil Spill, many of us have reflected on California's risk of experiencing a disaster of this kind, and our preparedness for an oil spill of any size. This issue of the Coast4u Quarterly features an interview with Robin Blanchfield, the Commission's oil spill expert, as well as a coastal steward tip on how individuals can help prevent future spills.
 
Best,
Chris Parry
Public Education Program Manager
California Coastal Cleanup Day Breaks Another Record
More than 80,000 turn out for the Event
 
(San Francisco) California's beaches and inner waterways may be collecting spots for marine debris, but Californians have demonstrated their support for clean beaches by turning out by the tens of thousands at the 26th Annual California Coastal Cleanup Day. They scoured beaches, shorelines, and inland locations, picking up trash and debris this morning, covering over 800 sites and gathering hundreds of tons of trash. These volunteers took part in the California Coastal Commission's 26TH Annual California Coastal Cleanup Day, part of the International Coastal Cleanup organized by Ocean Conservancy. Beach, inland waterway, and community cleanups took place up and down the California coast, from Mexico to the Oregon border, around San Francisco Bay, and at sites as far inland as Lake Tahoe and the Salton Sea. 
 
  
Click here to view the results and read the full press release  
 
17th Annual Kids' Ocean Day Adopt-A-Beach Cleanup

750 kids spell out "Sustain Life" on Bolsa Chica State Beach
 
750 kids spell out "Sustain Life" on Bolsa Chica State Beach
Over 7,000 students participated in this year's Kids' Adopt-A-Beach Cleanup last May.  In Humboldt County, the SF Bay Area, Monterey (where students traveled all the way from Fresno), Los Angeles, Huntington Beach, and San Diego, the kids had learned about the ocean and marine debris in school, and then they turned out in force to do something positive about the problem.  This year, students in some locations collected trash in old milk jugs or other reusable containers, which saved an estimated 2,650 plastic bags from being used at this year's event.  After their cleanups, they stood in formation to create aerial designs and "Sustain Life" messages. 
 
Click here to see their amazing images.
Destination Series Quiz
 
Can you guess this issue's featured destination? 
  
At this north coast destination, you can find agates and jade on the beach and visit a reconstructed Yurok village. This one-square-mile state park contains 125 campsites, including family camps, group camps, and a camp for hikers and bicyclists.  This park is just a few miles from California's smallest incorporated city, home to Humboldt State University Marine Laboratory. 
Is our destination...
 
a. Humboldt Redwoods State Park
b.  Manila Dunes Recreation Area
c.  Patrick's Point State Park
d.  Tolowa Dunes State Park
 
Discover the answer...
In Every Issue
 
Volunteer Spotlight  
    Girl Scout Troop 1181 from 
    Sacramento County
Grant Recipient Spotlight  
   Environmental Traveling 
   Companions (ETC)
Q&A with the California Coastal Commission  
   Robin Blanchfield, Supervisor
   of the Oil Spill Program
Shop for the Coast
Coastal Steward Tip
   Oil Spills: What Can I Do?
 
Environmental crises, such as the recent oil spill on the Gulf Coast motivates many of us to want to do something to help.  But don't wait for the next catastrophe. Regardless of where you are, your personal actions can still have a positive impact on our coastal environment.  Doing a shoreline cleanup helps to keep trash out of the ocean. Marine debris becomes hazardous material if it comes into contact with oil, and it can cause serious injury to wildlife through entanglement and ingestion.  Taking steps to use less energy helps prevent future oil spills by reducing our dependence on oil.  Learn More...
 
About Us

The Public Education Program protects and restores California's coast and ocean by teaching, inspiring, and empowering the public to take environmentally positive action. The Program serves people of all ages and strives to be inclusive by targeting underserved communities and groups.
 
For information on all of our Public Education Programs, click here, or contact us at 
 
California Coastal Commission
45 Fremont St, Suite 2000
San Francisco, CA 94105
(800) COAST-4U

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