Heal the Ocean is excited to share that this April, we partnered with Marborg Industries to expand a regional EPS (also known as Styrofoam) recycling program—now brought fully local to Santa Barbara. We also partnered with Earthcomb to remove over 1,600 lbs of trash and hazardous waste from More Mesa, including 30+ aerosol cans and 20 propane canisters—materials that can pose serious risks to coastal ecosystems.

• Heal the Ocean Welcomes Phyllis Grifman to Board of Directors

• Recent Community Engagement & Coastal Stewardship

• Volunteer Opportunities and Events: Get Involved this April 

• Sable Pipeline Restart

• Coastal Adaptation Updates from Heal the Ocean

• Carpinteria Advances Major Recycled Water Project

• Heal the Ocean Leads Boat Wreck Task Force

• Carpinteria City Council Opposes New Offshore Oil and Gas

• Oil and Gas Facility Decommissioning Set to Begin

• Platform Holly Decommissioning Project

• Goleta Beach Emergency Operations

• Recent Events

• Upcoming Events

Dear Heal the Ocean Supporters,

As we close out 2025, we want to extend our deepest gratitude. Every win we’ve celebrated this year was possible because of you: our donors, supporters, volunteers, partners, and community. Whether you joined a cleanup, contributed financially, shared our mission with others, or partnered on a project, you have been at the heart of every step forward.

• Massive Cleanup of the Santa Ynez Riverbed

• Extreme Tides Inform Sea Level Rise

• Montecito Beautification Day Cleanup

• Habitat Restoration (11/16): Raincheck!

• Heather Hudson Wins 2025 Roger Nance Ohana Award!

• Volunteers Needed for Habitat Restoration

• Earthcomb Celebrates Removing 250 Tons of Trash 

• Santa Ynez Riverbed Cleanup This Week

• Highlights from Recent Events

• Santa Barbara County Moves to Phase Out Gas and Oil

• Point Conception Boat Wreck Removed

• HTO’s 2025 Newsletter

• HTO Cleans Butterfly Beach Encampments and Beached Vessel

• HTO Mingled and Learned at the SBSFF Women’s Panel and Screening of the Cost of Silence Film

• Visit us This Fall at Upcoming Events!

• Boat Removal Scheduled at Point Conception

• HTO's 27th Anniversary was Celebrated with Flags on State Street

• HTO and Earthcomb Tackle Tar on SB Beaches

• Boat Wreck Removed by HTO from Butterfly Beach

• HTO and Earthcomb Clean Up After Fiesta

• Oil Drilling in SB County

• HTO Takes a Leadership Role on Coastal Resilience

• Coastal Cleanup Day on September 20 – Join us

• HTO Flags Will Fly on State Street on Our Anniversary

• Last Call to be listed on our Gala Invite!

• HTO 2025 Gala Campaign – Join our Community, Be a Sponsor!

• To the Rescue – HTO Removing Boat off Butterfly Beach

• HTO’s Executive Director Karina Johnston Gets to Work on Goleta Slough Resilience

• Our Beloved Hero – Andrew V – hits the media!

• Amber McEldowney joins HTO Team as Operations Manager

• And More…

Heal the Ocean (HTO) filled the El Paseo Restaurant on Thursday, June 19, to celebrate the “Passing of the Torch” to HTO’s new Executive Director, Karina Johnston, and to pay tribute to Hillary Hauser, who has been leading the organization for 27 years.

Heal the Ocean is thrilled to announce Karina Johnston as its next Executive Director! Karina brings more than 16 years of leadership in coastal environmental science and nonprofit management, along with a deep passion for ocean and coastal health. 

Dear Friends, Supporters, and Partners,

Heal the Ocean is currently searching for an Operations and Outreach Manager—someone with office management and administrative experience to help keep the HTO office running smoothly, and to engage with our community and supporters. Our ideal candidate is organized, detail-oriented, and passionate about ocean health. 

• Andrew to the Rescue! HTO/Earthcomb Clean Up Abandoned Camp at Butterfly Beach

• SOMS Geologist Ira Leifer Presenting HTO Summerland Oil Cleanup Data at Oil Spill Workshop

• Global Students, Local Impact: 190 lbs Removed at East Beach

• Join HTO at the 2025 Earth Day Festival!

Summerland Well Re-Abandonment Starting Late February

• Encore SBIFF Screening: "Out of Plain Sight"

• Join HTO’s Next Beach Cleanup in Collaboration with Topa Topa

• HTO Film Featured in SBIFF

• How to Return Lost Lobster Traps

HTO is thrilled to share exciting news: two more leaking legacy oil wells in Summerland, CA, have been proposed for abandonment (capping)under the same permit that facilitated the capping of Olsson 805, Duquesne, NorthStar, and Treadwell 1, 5, and 10.

Dear Friends, Supporters, and Partners,

As Executive Director of Heal the Ocean, I send my greetings to all during this holiday season, and I want to update everyone on the search for our next leader. As passionate about the ocean as you know me to be… I will not be sailing off into the sunset until we have our next Executive Director, and I’m sticking around with the HTO team to build on the strong foundation we have all worked on. 

With Thanksgiving upon us, Heal the Ocean is taking a moment to express our deepest thanks to all of you for your continued support.

It was a full moon and a full house at the Santa Barbara FisHouse last night as Heal the Ocean (HTO) hosted its annual Donor Thank You Party to conclude our Imaginary Gala 2024 fundraising campaign. HTO Executive Director Hillary Hauser addressed the enthusiastic crowd, declaring, “This has been the most successful year in our history—even surpassing the days of the QAD and Coral Casino extravaganzas!”

Heal the Ocean's Annual Gala Fundraiser is closing soon on October 18! Please join us by donating as a Sponsor or Supporter for a Passport to a Clean Ocean! 

If you respond with a donation by October 18, you will receive a complimentary invitation for HTO’s now-famous Happy Hour Thank You Party on November 14 at the Santa Barbara FisHouse on Cabrillo Blvd. HTO thanks Adam White, for opening his great restaurant for this generous party!

• Heal the Ocean to the Rescue: Removing Tar from the Beach!

• Let’s Jump into Coastal Cleanup Day – Sept 21

• Get Your Passport to HTO’s Annual Fundraiser!

• Last but not Least

• HTO Gets a Fiesta Cleanup in Motion

• A Salute to our New Dog Bag Sponsors!

• Abandoned Camp Spotted on Butterfly Beach, and HTO Gets the Call

• HTO Working with the County to Clean up North County Riverbeds

Dear Santa Barbara Community,
 
The use of confetti at our beloved parades and festivals is growing. While confetti eggs, or cascarones, have long been a cherished tradition during Santa Barbara’s Old Spanish Days, we are now seeing large bags of confetti, including shiny metallic confetti, sequins, glitter, and silly string, being tossed on our sidewalks, streets, and parks. These plastic items can easily wash or blow into our storm drains, creeks, and ocean, endangering aquatic life. This poses a significant threat to our environment, as birds and other animals can mistake them for food.

Happy Summer! HTO Celebrated Solstice at Sharkeez

• HTO Executive Director Honored at EDC’s Green & Blue Ball 

• Hillary Receives Carpinteria Sanitary District Recognition 

• HTO Director Charles Vinick Leads Whale Sanctuary Project

• Plastic Free July Expo at the CEC Environmental Hub – June 27 

World Oceans Day is an international day that takes place on June 8 every year. Originally proposed in 1992 by Canada at the Earth Summit - UN conference on Environment and Development in Rio de Janeiro, the World Ocean Day was officially recognized by the United Nations in 2002.

•    JUNE 6 - Healing Power of the Ocean at SBMM
•    JUNE 7-8 HTO at SB Surf Film Festival
•    JUNE 12 – Sharkeez Heads Beach Cleanup
•    JUNE 21 – FRYDAY at Sharkeez!
•    EVERYDAY – Summerland Oil Study (SOMS) Proceeds
•    Oil Leaks Popping up on Beaches
•    EDC Green & Blue Event Honoring Hillary on June 9!

• Santa Barbara County Board of Supervisors Commends Heal the Ocean's Founding Director

• Hillary Hauser Named the 2024 Environmental Hero by the Environmental Defense Center (EDC)

• Heal the Ocean as the Main Non-profit Sponsor for 2024 Santa Barbara Surf Film Festival – June 7 & 8

• Earth Day Extends Beyond April

• Don’t Miss Our Upcoming Events

Come say Hi at HTO’s Earth Day Festival (Booth 349)

• 5 Local Resources to be a Greener & Cleaner Consumer

• Positive Eco-News: Ship Speed Reduction Benefits Air Quality and Whales in the SB Channel

• Please Volunteer for the Earth!

A letter from our Founder and
Executive Director, Hillary Hauser:

I’m reaching out with some very important news to share. Heal the Ocean is starting the process of looking for a new Executive Director to lead our great organization into the future.

•   The Goleta Sewage Spill
•   Water Quality in Goleta
•   Join Us for an Art Exhibit Benefitting HTO
•   Cate School Shows Love for the Ocean on Valentine’s Day
•   HTO Earns 2024 Candid Platinum Seal
•   Don’t Miss HTO’s Upcoming Events!

"Greetings from Summerland" is a documentary premiering at the 39th annual Santa Barbara International Film Festival (SBIFF), exploring the history and detrimental impacts of offshore oil wells along the coast of Summerland, CA. Directed and produced by Harry Rabin and Joey Szalkiewicz of On the Wave Productions, the film is the first in a series of short films about managing leaking legacy wellheads around the world.