SEAsons Greetings!

Taking a break from all the festivities to wish all of you a happy, healthy holiday.

Peace to you and all you love - Sherry &Vernon

December 18th - Day without a Bag

Paper or Plastic? Neither!
The Watershed Task force is teaming up with San Clemente Green and other local environmental groups to participate in Heal the Bay's outreach effort of A Day Without a Bag.

Tomorrow (Thursday, December 18) we'll be asking holiday shoppers to "bag the disposable bag habit" and choose reusable bags - even if just for a day. The hope is that as people become more aware of the environmental impacts they will opt to BYOB (Bring Your Own Bag) all the time.

Volunteer members of our reusable bag coalition will be stationed at various locations in San Clemente. We'll be out raising awareness & gifting shoppers with free reusable bags and the opportunity for positive action. I'm signed up as site captain/team leader for the Ralph's Camino de Estrella location. We will be there from 4:00 to 6:00 pm -so if you are out in that area, please stop by to say hello. Other ways you can lend your support is to pass the word to your friends and family.

Choose Buckets over Bags!
Not so much for shopping (although it certainly earns you points for flair and thinking outside the bag!). No, in this case I am referring to our beach clean up activities. While on one hand we are working to keep plastics and other debris out of the ocean (and doing a mighty fine job of it I might add!), we are inadvertently adding to the landfill problem whenever we use plastic bags to collect and dispose of the trash. Do you see the irony in all this? How about a visual. Picture, if you can, 463 bags of trash piled into a landfill. That is the total number of bags of trash that our Adopt a Beach teams have collected and disposed of over the past 8 months. Compare that with the 226 buckets that were collected.

I know that you'll agree that we would like to see less of what we collect during our clean ups going directly to our landfills. Our founder, the late Stephanie Dorey, had that in mind when she created this program. You see we are unique from other clean up efforts in that we provide each team with a reusable bucket and calipers (vs disposable plastic bags and latex gloves). I think the challenge is that we have grown so much and have added larger teams with a rotating number of volunteers. Still, with a little awareness, creativity, and leadership from all of you - it can be done.

RAISING THE BAR - GOING GREEN(ER) in 2009
So, I propose that we shoot for greatly reducing (if not eliminating) the use of disposable bags and gloves during our clean ups. Are you up for the challenge? What are your thoughts on this? Get in touch with me (either by commenting on this blog, sending me an email, or writing/typing a comment on your next data collection sheet) I will compile the info that I receive and we can identify your challenges and come up with solutions. To jump start your creativity, here are some suggestions that have come my way already:

- gardening gloves, rubber dish washing gloves, or work gloves instead of disposable latex
- large canvas shoulder bags (like city workers use) and just reuse each time
- large mesh bags (like those used to wash lingerie) can be hosed off or laundered
- city could provide empty sandbags to use for collections, dump and return post cleanup
- team leaders set the tone/educate and request volunteers bring their own reusable materials

Looking forward to hearing what you come up with! It's fun to explore possibilities. Need inspiration? Then check out this video - http://vids.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=vids.individual&videoid=3320169

And the Gold Sea Stars for November Go To...

The Twelve Teams
Who Showed Up & Cleaned Up!
Joe Zoller Team
Flotsam & Jetsam Crew
Jefferson Family
F.I.S.H. - St. John's Youth Group
SC Sunrise Rotary Club
Wicks Family
SC Historical Society
Weller Family
Lausuens Boardriders Club
Chapman Family
Headrick Family
Beach Master

Thanks to these teams (with the usual above and beyond efforts of Mark Aubrey/Beach Master) over 15,848 pieces of trash were removed from our beaches and trail this month. So even though most of the tourists have gone home and the beaches appear relatively clean this time of year, your clean ups are still making a huge difference.

Catch of the Month
The Most Unusual Item of The Month goes to our newest team - F.I.S.H. (St. John's Youth Group). In addition to the usual plethora of cigarette butts, styrofoam, and bottle caps this team found a switch blade (!) on their adopted section. What?! You just never know what you'll find. Anyway, we're all glad that's outta there. Nice job, kids! On a lighter note, if you need some last minute items for holiday gift giving see the Beach Master. He netted 2 cell phones, 3 swim goggles, 1 dive mask and several items of clothing. : )

To see the Summary report, click on the link below.
AdoptABeachMonthlySummaryNovember2008.pdf

I'll be blogging again soon to tell you about an important event that's coming up on December 18th. Hints: Sea Turtles Don't Shop / Ban the Bag Monster! Until then, I will leave you with my favorite star fish "story". There are many versions out there. I believe all are adaptations from the Star Thrower by Loren Eisely (1907-1977). No doubt you already know of it, but it is a good reminder of how our seemingly small efforts can make a big difference. Hopefully this link will work - if not just copy and paste into your browser. Here it is:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2GunVwl6K4M

Over the River and Through the Woods...

In just a few hours I will be packing up my pumpkin pies and heading off to enjoy the day breaking bread and giving thanks with friends and family.

But first, here's a quick shout out/Happy Thanksgiving to my Adopt a Beach family with a link to a website you might enjoy:

http://www.gratefulness.org/t/motherearth.htm
Food for thought - and calorie free!

October Trick or Treat?

Compared to the activity of the summer months, October was a frightfully slow period for the Adopt a Beach program.

There were so few data sheets coming in that I began to suspect that both my fax machine and PC were bewitched.


I tried to keep my spirits up, but was beginning to doubt that there was even a ghost of a chance that I would be reporting good numbers this month.

But then, like magic the data sheets started coming in. Not many - just 6 teams - a mere skeleton crew from the 48 teams listed on the Adopt a Beach roster.

So...how did we do? Did our 6 month winning streak finally come to an end? Or can we now claim 7 straight months of keeping all 22 sections of beach/trail clean? Click on the link below to find out. But first - let's raise a glass of apple cider and toast the six teams who gave us a spooktacular first rate effort this month:

Joe Zoller & Friends
San Clemente Green
Headrick Family
Weller Family
Eads & Others
Beach Master

To see the Summary report, click on the link below.
AdoptABeachMonthlySummaryOctober2008.pdf

What a Welcome Treat!
The St. Johns Youth Group - team name F.I.S.H. (Friends in Serving Him) - have decided to lend their considerable energy and enthusiasm to our cause. The leader of the group is an impressive young lady by the name of Caili McDaniel.

Caili and her team selected Section 8 - Volley Ball Court to Marine Safety (north side) as their adopted beach/trail. Youth taking leadership roles and actively working to preserve the environment - it makes my heart sing.

Our Blog Cover Model - Rupert the Pumpkin
Before I forget - I want to be sure and give credit to Rupert - our quirky cover model - and Steve Polatnick -the genius who discovered him. I invite you to check out Steve's website at http://www.rupertpumpkin.com/ruperts.html

That's the scoop for October. I hope to see more teams out there doing their part in November. It's a great way to stay in shape during the holidays. More beach walking/clean up activity translates to an extra slice of pumpkin pie at the dinner table. So if the idea of racking up the good Karma doesn't motivate you, maybe your sweet tooth will. (wink/wink - big smile)

September Summary - It doesn't Get More Exciting Than This...

Beach Master in the News...Local Man Adopts a Beach and Saves a Life...
Yep - that's our very own Mark Aubrey (aka Beach Master) making headlines. This time, it is not for his extraordinary dedication to the Adopt a Beach program (for which he has long been our hero). This time he really outdid himself. It seems that being a record breaking clean up legend on the Adopt a Beach team is no longer enough for him. Oh no. (Head shake) Now he has to go off jumping into the water and saving people. Way to raise the bar Beach Master. How can the rest of us mere mortals ever live up to that? Ha. Seriously, we couldn't be more proud of you Mark. You never cease to amaze us - and that is just the way we like it! (Big Smile)

The story was picked up by the OC Register with favorite local reporter Fred Swegles providing the scoop and Paul Bersebach snapping the awesome photos. (Thumbs Up)
Here is the link in case you missed it: http://www.ocregister.com/articles/aubrey-beach-cane-2192212-water-went

The September Data Is In!

There were 12 teams this month who were walking the walk and not just talking the talk. And in the process of walking, managed to pick up a lot of junk from the beach and trail. Thanks to these hard working folks, we can proudly proclaim that for the sixth month in a row every stretch of beach has been cleaned at least twice. Awesome Awesome Awesome. Thank you Thank you Thank you.

To see the September Beach cleanup summary
click here.


September Fundraising

The live Art Auction was a blast. When I wasn't drooling (figuratively/not literally!) over the donated treasures or rubbing elbows with artists and art lovers in the community I did my part by keeping the wine flowing. (To the wine glasses of the attendees glasses not my own!) Fun Fun Fun. I spotted members from the following Adopt a Beach teams bidding away - Historical Society, Sunrise Rotary Club, City Council, Judy Jones for Assembly, and probably many others of you were there too. I was too busy to do any bidding myself but luckily Vernon arrived in the nick of time with the checkbook. We now have two of Jim Proett's masterpieces hanging on display in our home. According to Nanci Mavar, the event netted $4,200 for the Watershed Task force. (Cha ching!) I'm including the link so you can read the full write up, including the list of artists who donated their work. In return, please repay the favor whenever you can by supporting our local artists. Check it out...http://www.ocregister.com/articles/art-san-clemente-2194053-gallery-force

Just today, I heard through the grapevine (hint: Nanci Mavar) that Mary Vondrak with the City of San Clemente Environmental Programs Department has secured a grant that will provide an additional $3,000 to support clean ocean efforts. (cartwheels). Lookin' good on the fundraising front.

AT Last...Smoking Banned on the Trail

Great news - on September 29th a new law went into effect banning smoking on all municipal trails. Hopefully that will translate to fewer cigarette butts showing up in our our bags and buckets. Depending, of course, on how well it gets enforced. Anyway, it's a start! Thanks to all of you who have been consistently counting, logging and sending in the data from your cleanups. This is the kind of hard data that gets considered when making public policy. Good incentive to keep those data sheets and your comments and suggestions coming to me. Sometimes it takes awhile, but this is a real relevant current example of how we can influence change. Kudos to the City Council. And Kudos to You - all the Adopt a Beach teams out doing the work. I'm learning that activism isn't always loud and bigger than life. In fact, a lot of the time it is subtle and behind the scenes and involves getting your hands (or in our case gloves) dirty. And it is frequently tedious work - like counting cigarette butts or adding up data from a stack of faxed in data sheets. But it is powerful and important. It helps to remember that.

I have the link to that news article too - here it is for your reading pleasure: http://www.ocregister.com/articles/row-trails-san-2168687-smoking-clemente

California Coastal Cleanup

This was also the month for the annual coastal cleanup. Even though it was the morning after the art auction (and required getting up early on a Saturday- groan) I couldn't miss that one! And I'm sure glad I didn't. Danna McIntosh, Mary Vondrak, Bill Hart and I teamed up to sign in volunteers, issue cleaning materials, supply refreshments, and answer questions. We also laughed a lot. If you know these guys you understand what I am talking about. Among the many volunteers who showed up, I recognized some familiar faces from our Adopt a Beach family including Kristi Kindred and members of her group from the Sunrise Rotary Club. All in all, volunteers bagged up over 345 pounds of litter including 70 pounds of recyclables. Impressive! Of course what would be even more impressive is if we could keep this stuff from getting on the beach in the first place!

Check out Danna's article in the OC Register: http://www.ocregister.com/articles/san-clemente-pounds-2166823

On a related note, Mary Vondrak forwarded the tally sheet so I could include it in the blog. To see the results from the annual Coastal Cleanup day click here.

Whew! September was a news filled month for the Adopt a Beach program. Now I wonder what delights October will bring? Stay tuned...

August Update - Five Consecutive "Wows!"

August Status Report - WOW x5!
August proved to be yet another successful month for the Adopt a Beach Program - this makes the FIFTH CONSECUTIVE MONTH that all 22 sections have been cleaned at least twice. This was due to the collective efforts of 13 dedicated teams, including the amazing Beach Master. Many thanks and Much Appreciation!

For the full report clickhere

Adopt a Beach Team Social
Speaking of thanks and appreciation, we hosted our first Adopt a Beach team social at the Ole Hanson Community Center this month. It was a fun evening with pizza,prizes,and a presentation.

To see the powerpoint slides from my presentation click here

Community Support:
This event was made possible through the support of community sponsorship. Ron Perugini,local business owner and Vice President of the Watershed Taskforce, rallied his friends in the Auto industry to donate the funding for our team party. Our thanks to the following for their generosity and support:

Ron Perugini ($250)
Sam Clemente Auto Wrecking

JC and Mary Krumpols ($250)
AVI Commerical Insurance

Michael Daley ($100)
Ray’s Auto Repair

Gary Giaominis ($100)
Rincon Truck Center


Save the Dates
There are two big events coming up during September to add to your calendars. The San Clemente Art Auction (Sept. 19th) and the California Coastal Cleanup Day (Sept. 20th).

The Annual San Clemente Artist Association Art Auction
The San Clemente Art Association partners with the Task Force to present our BIGGEST fundraiser of the year. This funding is necessary to pay for Adopt a Beach supplies and to present the Annual Earth Day San Clemente event. The event will be held at the Art Gallery at the Ole Hanson Community Center, on September 19th, from 6:00 - 8:00pm. It will be a gathering of Adopt a Beach team members, Watershed Taskforce representatives, local artists, art lovers, and other kindred spirits. Speaking of spirits - I hear there will be wine and delectable goodies to munch on while mingling and bidding on beautiful art pieces. Tell your friends and come out and join us! If you're lucky you could walk away with a treasured work of art at a great price.

California Coastal Cleanup Day
The very next morning, September 20th, our beaches will be getting some extra attention/TLC as part of the annual California Coastal Cleanup Day. To join in, you will need to register with Mary Vondrak. Her phone number is (949) 361-8204 and email is VondrakM@san-clemente.org. This event is scheduled to run from 9:00am - 12:00pm.

That's all for now. Thanks again for being part of this important program and for making a difference one bucket at a time! - Sherry