Happy New Year!

Welcome Team Lemly

Last week I had the pleasure of meeting Don and Kathy Lemly in front of the pier and getting them all set up to join our happy crew. Here is a photo of them with bucket in hand ready to take on the world...or at least their selected section of beach. Expect to see their names reflected on future monthly summary reports for Section 13 (Restrooms to Boca del Canon).

FRESH START - STRONG START!

Here it is - 2009 and the Adopt a Beach Program is already off to a strong start. All 22 sections of beach were covered in January. An auspicious beginning indeed!

Here are the NINE TEAMS that came through for us in January:

Joe Zoller Team
Miller/Wood Team
Jefferson Family
F.I.S.H. - St. John's Youth Group
SC Sunrise Rotary Club
Wick Family
SC Historical Society
Weller Family
Beach Master

Click here for the January Report.

Year End Wrap Up

And to each and every team who turned in a data sheet last year, thank you for your part in making 2008 an amazing year for the Adopt a Beach program. I just finished the final summary report for the year and I think you will be proud of what we accomplished together. Take a look!

Click here for the Year End Summary Report for 2008.http://greenwaveleadership.com/Adopt%20a%20Beach/AdoptABeachAnnualSummary2008.pdf

GO YELLOW to GO GREEN

As you all know, I am always on the lookout for ways we can improve our processes, reduce waste and go greener. Mark Chavez (Beaches Parks and Recreation Division) has come up with a very creative yet practical idea to help us reduce the number of plastic non-reusable bags being used for beach cleanups. SANDBAGS. Yep, those bright yellow city supplied sandbags could be just the ticket to helping us go green. If you or members of your team are currently using plastic bags for your cleanups, I strongly encourage you to use (and reuse) a sandbag instead. You can pick them up from Marine Safety. By the way, if your team is taking steps to "green their team" I want to hear from you. Who will be the first team to send me a photo of the sandbags in action?

Special Presentation This Thursday

Captain Charles Moore from the Algalita Research Foundation will be presenting at the Coastal Advisory Meeting on the effects of plastic in the ocean, now commonly known as the Great Pacific Garbage Patch. It's on Thursday, February 12th, 7:00pm at the Community Development Building, 910 Calle Negocio, 2nd Floor South Entrance. Sure to be an eye opener and there is no charge to attend.

More to Come

Plans for another team get together is in the works and there will be more in the way of information and announcements coming your way in the weeks ahead. I'll save those for another time to avoid info overload. For now, I will leave you with this thought:

It's a new year - stretched out before us like a beautiful empty beach. Where will you leave your footprints this year?

December Data is IN.

IMPRESSIVE ENDING
FOR 2008

Wow.
You guys are full of surprises.

In spite of the holidays and competing commitments, the activity reports for December were some of the strongest ever.

Here's a special salute to the 12 teams who made it happen:
Joe Zoller Team
Flotsam & Jetsam Crew
Miller Woods Family
Jefferson Family
F.I.S.H. - St. John's Youth Group
San Clemente Green
Wicks Family
San Clemente Historical Society
Weller Family
Lasuens Boardrider Club
Citro Family
Beach Master

Again, an extra salute to Mark Aubrey (Beach Master) who managed to cover the entire 22 sections of beach/trail several times this month. Although not quite as exciting as saving a drowning man, he did report finding a new watch on the beach which he was able to return to its rightful owner. What other interesting things were found? Click on the following link to find out:

AdoptABeachMonthlySummaryDecember2008.pdf

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)