August 2024 E-Letter
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
Earthcomb Jumps into Action on Fiesta Cleanup
Each year, Fiesta leaves behind a significant amount of plastic confetti, single-use plastic cups, and other trash that litters the streets and falls into storm drains. To supplement the City of Santa Barbara's usual post-Fiesta street cleanup, HTO hired Andrew Velikanje of Earthcomb to help clean litter that landed in side streets, planters, and overlooked areas. Over three days, Andrew removed 1,300 pounds of trash that would have otherwise ended up in the storm drains or gutters, which would be washed out to sea at first rain.
HTO is grateful for our close association with Andrew, who started Earthcomb while he didn’t have a roof over his head. He went out day after day to clean up the littered beaches and roadsides, documenting it all for his website. Andrew is now Hazmat Certified and a licensed Peer Advocate, providing jobs and counseling to those without shelter—a situation he once experienced himself. During his Fiesta work, Andrew noted a significant increase in homeless camping in downtown doorways, with no restrooms in sight. Andrew is preparing a report for HTO to take to Santa Barbara City Mayor Randy Rowse.
HTO Salutes our New Dog Bag Sponsors!
Above All Aviation, VCA Animal Hospital, Impact.com, and Paws4Poop have joined HTO’s growing list of dog bag sponsors to supply City and County beaches and parks with more dog bags. The HTO Dog Bag Program Sponsorship Program is important to keeping our beaches, parks and trails clean, and we give a loud bark-out to those who participate!
In 2010, when Heal the Ocean learned that dog bag dispensers would no longer be stocked by Santa Barbara County due to a sweeping budget cut, we stepped forward to offer our help. We invented the dog bag sponsorship program, which gradually grew to include the City of Santa Barbara, and our doggy bag dispensers are now seen everywhere!
If you are interested in sponsoring a dispenser or donating to our
Dog Bag Program, please contact info@healtheocean.org.
Swift Cleanup at Butterfly Beach
Scenes from the abandoned encampment at Butterfly Beach.
When HTO received a report of a homeless encampment at Butterfly Beach, we sent Andrew Velikanje of Earthcomb to investigate. What Andrew found was an abandoned disarray of scattered tents, sleeping bags, debris, and garbage buried in the sand, posing a hazard to barefoot beachgoers. Andrew removed the debris before the tide could sweep it all away.
HTO Working with County on Clearing out North County Riverbeds
Aerial Survey and GIS Map by Harry Rabin.
Heal the Ocean (HTO) is working with the County of Santa Barbara (COSB) to clean out the Santa Ynez and Santa Maria Riverbeds. The project has begun with HTO drone and GIS surveys to understand the number of homeless encampments and debris in these locations, and determine how many individuals need housing and help. The County approached HTO for assistance, which is crucial as the rainy season approaches later in the year, bringing risks of flash floods and water releases from Lake Cachuma, all of which can wash trash, camps, and belongings downstream and into the ocean.
On the northwest side of the Santa Maria Riverbed, the COSB, in collaboration with CityNet and Good Samaritan, offered housing to individuals, then cleaned out the abandoned area of trash and offal.
In the Lompoc Santa Ynez Riverbed, HTO aerial surveys have pinpointed a large encampment littered with many shopping carts and substantial amounts of trash. HTO plays a vital role in the cleanup of the Santa Ynez Riverbed, particularly on private land where the County is unable to act.
The County will issue evacuation notices to the Lompoc riverbed inhabitants on August 13, 2024, with housing options provided. HTO has secured a $15,000 grant from the Rose Foundation for cleanup and debris removal, with Earthcomb hired for the task. Earthcomb will remove flammable materials such as gasoline, propane, lighter fluid, batteries, car batteries, and electronics.
Last but not Least…
HTO wants to thank Jon Frost for being a stand-out independent beach cleanup volunteer, contributing over 45 hours of work during July and August. Jon doesn’t wait for an organized cleanup, he just goes out and does it.
If all of us take it upon ourselves to do one good deed for the good of our beach, our community, our planet… what a great world it will be!
From all of us at HTO to all of you, thank you. Please stay safe.
Hillary Hauser, Executive Director
HTO thanks the Poehler-Stremel Charitable Trust
for providing funds to publish our newsletters and e-letters!