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.
In this E-letter:
HTO invited onto stakeholder committee working on the implementation plan for $650M in wastewater infrastructure projects
How to stop receiving junk mail
PLEASE VOTE on Tuesday, November 2!
Support HTO Friday, November 5, at the Wine & Design art event featuring Paul Greene’s ocean photography!
In this E-letter:
HTO invited onto stakeholder committee working on the implementation plan for $650M in wastewater infrastructure projects
How to stop receiving junk mail
PLEASE VOTE on Tuesday, November 2!
Support HTO Friday, November 5, at the Wine & Design art event featuring Paul Greene’s ocean photography!
The Weedy Sea Dragon is a type of seahorse from Australia that uses its long bony plates to camouflage as seaweed.
As camouflage experts, Weedy Sea Dragons even mimic kelp-like movements as a form of camouflage. They often let sea currents drift them in the water just like kelp! Similar to seahorses, male sea dragons carry fertilized eggs in a pouch for 8 weeks until they are ready to hatch.
While many of us were having a nice weekend relaxing and being with friends this past weekend, something wonderful was going on in the So. Fairview Avenue area of Goleta we want you all to see.
Andrew Velikanje (we call him Andrew V.) was tackling the cleanup of a huge homeless camp spread widely in the So. Fairview area – by himself – and at breakneck speed. (Well, this little 4-minute video is fast-forwarded so it looks like breakneck speed – but this job took Andrew all day.)
Local artist Tom de Walt is conducting an auction of one of his exquisite gems of art with 10% of proceeds benefiting Heal the Ocean. The auction actually got underway Thursday, but through the end of Saturday - tomorrow - you can still get in a bid and take home this beautiful painting shown. . .
Earlier this week, on Wednesday, August 18, 2021, the City of Santa Barbara’s COVID-19 Homeless Task Force received Heal the Ocean’s recent survey findings on homeless encampments with a comparison of conditions documented by HTO in February 2021.
The survey was conducted by HTO Field Advisor Harry Rabin and his company On the Wave Productions, LLC., which has been monitoring homeless camps on the South Coast for over two years. . .
The Portuguese Man-of-war is often confused as a jellyfish, but it is actually a siphonophore, an animal composed of a colony of organisms working together. This highly venomous creature consists of fours parts or polyps with the largest section located at the top whose function is to float and keep the colony at surface level. The second organism would be the tentacles. . .
In this E-Letter:
Skip the Confetti during Fiesta!
HTO Hires Andrew to Help with Litter During Fiesta
Sheriff Brown thanks HTO for Boat Wreck Removal from Sandyland (watch the movie)!
Remembering SB Community Activist Lee Moldaver
Please Think of our Pets during Fiesta!
Haskell's Hero Andrew Joins HTO to Help the City Keep Litter Under Control
Sam Scranton Joins Advisory Board
Surf on With Heather Hudson’s Films!
Another abandoned homeless camp got cleaned out – a big one at Haskell's Beach near the Bacara Resort. This time the operation involved an unusual combination of talent: Bacara Resort official Mitch Vargas and Santa Barbara County Sheriff Ben Sandu, who is also the Community Resource Deputy for the City of Goleta, who contacted Heal the Ocean, who contacted Brian Borgatello of MarBorg Industries – and finally the most unusual participant of all in this project is a former resident of the camp who is now living with a roof over his head, and who now cleans up every piece of junk he can get his hands on. . .
This #MarineMonday we bring to you the largest fish in the sea! Whale Sharks (Rhinocodon typus) weigh around 11 tons and can be as large as 20 m. Similar to human fingerprints, Whale Sharks possess a unique set of spots which allow individual sharks to be identified. . .
13 million tonnes of plastic make their way into the ocean every year. While adopting sustainable practices does make a difference, society still has a long way to go before plastic-free alternatives become mainstream and accessible to everyone.
We ask our supporters to take action against plastic pollution today by demanding our politicians to support the Break Free From Plastic Pollution Act of 2021. . .
From July 21-25, a little over 2 weeks from now, Summerland’s Lookout Park and the beach below the park will be the staging area for heavy oil construction equipment to be used in capping Olsson 805, a beach well located on the west end of Summerland Beach. The California State Lands Commission posted a Public Notice about the temporary closure of Lookout Park and heavy equipment that will be used on the beach below. . .
