SoCal Events and Meetings - Novemer 2011

Here's the latest update on our Southern California Chapter events and meetings for November 2011. Numerous Chapters in SoCal are gearing up for their annual elections in November and December. The success of Surfrider Foundation's environmental campaigns and programs depends entirely on YOU. Contact your local chapter and ask how you can help. No time to volunteer? Join.



Surfrider Foundation needs YOU in 2012!

MEETINGS:

11/1 - Ventura - Chapter and Executive Committee (EC) - EP Foster Library - 6-8pm

11/1 - South OC - EC status and planning - 6:30-8:30pm

11/3 - HB/SB - RAP mtg - 1st Thu of every month - Shorebreak Hotel

11/8 - SD - RAP mtg - 7pm

11/9 - HB/SB - EC - Location TBA - 6-7pm

11/10 - Santa Barbara - EC - 7-9pm

11/16 - Newport Beach - Planning & Elections - Blue C Advertising - 5-7pm

11/16 - San Diego - Chapter mtg - Forum Hall in UTC - 7-9pm

11/17 - South Bay - Chapter Mixer and Annual Elections - Location TBD - 7-9pm

11/21 - Long Beach - EC - 7pm

Isla Vista - every Wed night in the Grad Lounge, UCSB - 8pm

EVENTS/OTHER:

11/3 - Santa Barbara - MLPA Community Mtg - Watershed Resource Center - 7-8pm



MLPA Community Meetings - November 2011

11/5 - WLAM - Yoga & Beach Clean-up at Topanga SB - 10am

11/5 - Long Beach - Termino Ave. Clean-Up - 9am

11/5 - Newport Beach - 1st Sat Clean-up - 54th/Seashore - 3-5pm

11/6 - South OC - Clean-up at Aliso Creek - 9am-2pm

11/6 - San Diego - OFG Hands on Workshop in Oceanside

11/9 - Long Beach - Eco-Week at CSULB - by campus bookstore. 11am-2pm

11/9 - San Diego - MLPA Community Mtg - Encinitas Community Center - 7-8pm

11/12 - Long Beach - CleanLB Clean-up - 10am

11/12 - HB/SB - Clean-up @ South Bolsa Jetty - 8am-Noon



Sep 24 2011 clean-up with Volcom in Huntington Beach

11/12 - San Diego - Clean-up at Cardiff SB - 9-11am

11/15 - South Bay - MLPA Community Mtg - SEAlab - 7-8pm

11/19 - Long Beach - Granada clean-up - 10am

11/19 - San Diego - Clean-up at Moonlight Beach - 9-11am

11/26 - Long Beach - Fisher-Price clean-up - 10am

11/26 - HB/SB - Clean-up @ 6th St/Northside of HB Pier - 8am-Noon

11/26 - San Diego - Clean-up at Ocean Beach Jetty - 9-11am

11/29 - South OC - MLPA Community Mtg - OC Sailing & Events Ctr - 7-8pm

LOOKING AHEAD:

12/1 - WLAM - Chapter Mixer and Annual Elections - 7pm

12/3 - WLAM & South Bay - Year End Volunteer Appreciation Event - 10am

12/3 - San Diego - OFG Garden Assistance Program event - 9:30am-3:30pm

12/4 - Long Beach - Holiday Party & Volunteer Appreciation - 4-6pm

December - Annual Save Gaviota Holiday Fundraiser

Surfrider SoCal - End of Summer 2011 News

The Santa Barbara and Isla Vista Chapters got off to a good start with their Ocean Friendly Gardens Program with a "Basics Class" last month. Participants learned how to "apply CPR to the landscape" Surfrider is partnering on the series with the City of Santa Barbara and other local water agencies, and was funded by a grant from the California Coastal Commission's Whale Tail License Plate program.  Learn more: http://www.surfrider.org/coastal-blog/entry/santa-barbara-ofg-kicks-off-with-basics-class.  Or e-mail santabarbaraofg@gmail.com.

Surfrider Foundation's Board of Directors tours the Gaviota Coast

Surfrider's Board of Directors recently met in Santa Barbara, which included an under-the-radar tour of the Naples property. With myriad development plans for the Gaviota coast proceeding at various stages, the brass of Surfrider got a behind-the-scenes look thanks to the Santa Barbara Chapter and artist/activist Reeve Woolpert.   Read more in the Santa Barbara Independent.  

You can help!  Sign the Petition to Preserve The Gaviota Coast.

Surfers' Point Managed Shoreline Retreat project ribbon cutting was held on Saturday July 14, 2011.  There's still a lot of work to be done, including construction and vegetation of dunes, swales, completion of the parking lots, bathroom and showers, and more.  The Ventura County Chapter wants to thank the new Ventura Surf Brewery for their support - 3% of sales goes to help with the Surfers' Point project.  See photos and video of the event here.
 

The Long Beach Chapter's effort to "Sink The Breakwater"  involves the completion of a feasibility study (aka the "Long Beach Breakwater (East San Pedro Bay) Ecosystem Restoration Study") by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.  The study is presently at a standstill due to funding shortages.  In a recent news article in the LB Post, Building the (Long Beach) Breakwater is listed as one of the 10 worst decisions in Long Beach history.

Huntington/Seal Beach Chapter's prize-winning "Tidal Wave of Trash" float.

The Huntington Beach/Seal Beach Chapter’s “Tidal Wave of Trash” float took first place “Best in Show” honors in the 107th Annual Huntington Beach 4th of July Parade, the largest parade on the West Coast.  As a newcomer to the parade, Surfrider made a big splash with a massive tidal wave “sculpture” constructed out of 580 lbs. of trash made up of plastic bottles, caps and bags, styrofoam cups and plates and other debris that Surfrider volunteer Andre Faubert picked up along the Huntington Beach shoreline. The Chapter calls this the “30/30 Experiment Project” because Faubert gathered the trash for 30 days and 30 hours.  http://hsbsurfrider.org/category/blog-8-3030-experiment/.  The float was sponsored by Farmers & Merchants Bank, and the music was provided by “The Fabulous Nomads."

South Orange County Chapter fights for access at Strands Gate in Dana Point

Surfrider Foundation's South Orange County Chapter continues to prioritize the "Strandsgate" beach access campaign involving the unlawful gates erected at Strands beach in Dana Point.  Late in July, several members of the community spoke out at the City of Dana Point's city council meeting, reminding the council members about Judge Joan Lewis' ruling in early June which has been ignored by the City to date.  Specifically, the order stated that the city acted "arbitrarily and capriciously" when it enacted an emergency ordinance used as a rouse to help developer Headlands LLC, Sanford Edward, to put up gates and issue "bankers hours" of use.   The Chapter’s online petition gathered over 2,000 signatures in less than one week.   Please make sure to weigh in and sign the petition.   http://action.surfrider.org/p/dia/action/public/?action_KEY=4472.  Like us on our Facebook Page at Strands Gate.  

San Diego Chapter activists came out to support our Rise Above Plastics Day

 

San Diego Chapter volunteers participated in Rise Above Plastics Day on June 29^th at Patagonia in Cardiff and the Farmers Market in Ocean Beach.  The concept behind this day was to educate local citizens about the adverse affects of single use plastics on our marine and coastal environments.  Volunteers were on site handing out reusable produce bags to those who signed the petition in support of SB568, which seeks to ban polystyrene take-out containers in the state of California.  Nearly 400 volunteers from the Chapter, San Diego Coastkeeper and I Love a Clean San Diego joined forces to tidy up the beaches the day after the busiest holiday weekend of the year.   Called the “Morning After Mess” their annual cleanup resulted in over 2000 lbs of garbage, including 480 lbs of recycling and 6957 cigarette butts.  The hardest hit site this year was Ocean Beach, which suffered from the aftermath of the annual marshmallow fight.   The Chapter also organized the first-ever lawn patrol in Imperial Beach on Sunday, July 17th.  The patrol started at the Tijuana River Estuary Visitor Center, the grounds of which exemplify a model Ocean Friendly Garden.  The group of over 20 volunteers then set out to tour the gardens within the community and to learn about what it means to be truly ocean friendly by identifying elements of "CPR" (Conserving water and energy, Permeating water into the soil, and Retaining rainwater on site).

Southern California - Chapter News - April 2011

The cities of Santa Barbara and Long Beach are one step closer to banning the bag!  Both cities have directed city staff to draft ordinances, which are expected to go before council for a final vote in the coming months.  Tell Santa Barbara to ban the bag!

Ban the Plastic Bag in Long Beach!

Ban the Bag - Santa Barbara

Plastic: The Real Sea Monster program will continue to visit preschools and K-12 programs throughout the year to educate kids and families of the dangers that single use plastics pose to our marine environment.   The West Los Angeles / Malibu Chapter has also teamed up with The Children's Nature Institute (CNI) of Los Angeles  for a year long residency.  CNI, which is located close to downtown LA is providing space and support for the creation of five wearable plastic sea monster costumes to be used at various events, rallies and campaigns.  The five costumes will be named after the five great garbage patches in our oceans. The "The North Pacific Monster" was begun at the Los Angeles Natural History Museum in the North American Mammal Hall as a part of the Museum's World Water Day in March.

Plastic: The Real Sea Monster at the Natural History Museum

Kids love Sea Monsters, Moms love the message

The West Los Angeles / Malibu Chapter's Rise Above Plastics' Make A Bag station has already made numerous appearances at chapter events.  They transform old T-shirts and tank tops into re-usable bags and silkscreened them with the RAP and Ban the Bag logos.   View their “How To” instructional video on Facebook.

Huntington Beach / Seal Beach Chapter activist Andre Faubert wanted to show his love for the ocean and give back to the thing he holds dear to his heart.   Simply named "The 30/30 Experiment", his goal was to pick up plastic debris along his local beach for 1 hour a day over 30 days.   By day 28, Andre had collected a total weight of 537.3 lbs - an average of 19.2 lbs of trash per day!   Activist Sarah Bayles is going for 365 non-consecutive days of collecting beach trash in Santa Monica.   She has 160 more days to go.   Follow Sarah’s blog "The Daily Ocean"

Huntington/Seal Beach activist Andre Faubert

Raising Watershed Awareness was the goal of the Newport Beach Chapter's 4th Annual RockWater Relay Race from Mountain to Ocean.   The winning team reveled in the glory of being the team who collected the most trash along the 28.9 mile course.  Volunteer teams included Between Rock & Wet Place, RockHarbor Runners, and the Watershed Ducks.   Many thanks to Hurley, Tattooed Steel, Cliff Bars, HDS water supplement and Cabo Chips.

The Watershed Ducks go for the "best dressed" award

Members of South Orange County Chapter's youth program traveled to Sacramento with Surfrider Global staff for Oceans Day 2011.   They discussed the importance of marine protected areas, the need for legislation to reduce and stop pollution from plastic bags and polystrene, and a strong State Water Board Trash Policy.  They also engaged state legislators regarding their support for marine animal and sustainable seafood legislation.

Rise Above Plastics in the San Diego Chapter had a busy Earth Month with a screening of 'Bag it' and several booth events in honor of Earth Day.   They are also joining efforts with the Kids for Clean Water program to include plastic pollution in their presentations, and are developing a new presentation to college students in their SDSU club.

Ventura Chapter marks milestone year in 2011

FULL ARTICLE REPOSTED FROM THE VCREPORTER

By Alex Wilson 03/31/2011

The Ventura County chapter of the Surfrider Foundation turns 20 years old this year. In addition to that milestone, it’ll also be celebrating major progress on one of the largest projects it’s ever championed.

The charity’s leaders have been working for about 15 years on plans to replace a storm-battered parking lot and bike path at Ventura’s iconic Surfer’s Point near the mouth of the Ventura River, and create a more natural environment.

The multimillion-dollar managed shoreline retreat project has required cooperation with numerous groups, including local, state and federal officials. The first phase is well under way.

It’s just one of many environmental projects spearheaded by the group, projects that also include testing water in local rivers for contaminants, and painting storm drains with a reminder that anything dumped into them winds up in the ocean.

Ventura resident Larry Manson is a retired Ventura College history instructor who was a founding member of the chapter, and went on to serve on the organization’s national board. He’s traveled internationally to educate people about protecting the ocean environment.

Manson says the Surfrider Foundation has grown considerably over the past two decades starting with just a few chapters in Malibu, Santa Cruz and San Diego, and spreading overseas to places like Japan, Australia and Peru.

“There’s some friendly discussion between the chapters about which chapter came first, but it all pretty much happened simultaneously,” says Manson.

The local chapter has become one of Ventura County’s most active and visible environmental advocacy groups, with more than 1,000 members. Some of them help financially by paying dues, others attend monthly meetings, and some donate their services, according to Manson. “One person, for example, is a filmmaker and he makes films for us quite successfully, and a lot of people bring a very specific skill,” says Manson. “We have a pro-bono attorney who, for free, will donate services, and a lot of us have other skills. So it’s kind of like a net; throw out the net and we have people who can do things for us.”

Debby Tygell is a fifth grade teacher at Saticoy School in Ventura and serves as treasurer for the chapter. She believes protecting the ocean environment is important. “Because it is part of our globe and we’re connected to everything, the earth and the plants and everything in the ecosystem. Once everything goes off balance, it affects everything else,’ says Tygell. “So it’s very important to be stewards for the ecosystem.”

Tygell says it feels good to make a difference, and encourages students to get involved. “It empowers me to empower my students to make a difference, because the world’s going to be in their hands,” says Tygell.

Manson says many of the members don’t surf, and ages range from teenagers to retirees. “I can’t make a characterization about members, except they all love the ocean,” says Manson.

Manson says they’re still contemplating how to celebrate their anniversary year. “We’re not quite sure, but the first phase of the restoration of Surfer’s Point is moving along rapidly and has to be done by the start of summer because of bird nesting periods. So we’re thinking about some kind of event where we celebrate the ending of phase one and the 20th anniversary of the chapter. That seems to fit together,” says Manson.

People interested in getting involved are invited to the monthly meeting on the first Tuesday of every month at the Topping Room in Ventura’s E.P. Foster library. The group’s Internet website, www.surfrider.org, also has links to local chapters.

outdoors@vcreporter.com