Check out what Surfrider Ventura County was up to this month at our beach cleanups!
Our November cleanup with our 15 fantastic volunteers gleaned over 750 cigarette butts which would have polluted the Santa Barbara Channel and harmed protected marine species otherwise. Thanks to everyone who made it out!
No December RRP cleanup in December due to king tides. Join us at RRP the second Saturday of January!
We didn’t let the rain stop us at our Ormond Community Workday this past month, where 37 volunteers joined us to clean up the beach, remove invasive plants from the dunes, and learn about the Ormond Beach Restoration and Public Access Plan (OBRAP). Our 37 wonderful volunteers—including 6 core volunteers who were soaked before the event even started—removed 201 pounds of trash from Ormond Beach with less than desirable weather conditions for the first hour.
This community workday event was in collaboration with multiple other organizations, including Coastal Keepers, Ventura Audubon, Pax Environmental, Wildscape Restoration, Oxnard City Corps, the California State Coastal Conservancy, and the Nature Conservancy. We heard updates on the OBRAP project from the project partners, and volunteers were encouraged to provide feedback on the current proposed plans. Wildscape and Pax Environmental gave everyone an overview of what invasive species were out there, while keeping everyone informed on what native plants to leave be.
It’s not often that Surfrider gets out to Arnold Road, and we were beyond stoked that the rain quickly let up and allowed for an enjoyable morning on the beach and dunes. Thank you to everyone who joined us, and stay tuned for more community workdays in the future!
See you next month at Ormond!
94 community volunteers came out on this beautiful autumn Saturday morning and removed 148 pounds of trash, 24 pounds recycling, and 1,500 cigarette butts from the Ventura Promenade and beaches.
Pictured: A group from ALMS of Our Lady of Assumption and rock star core volunteers Dave, Michelle, and Rebecca. Many thanks to everyone!
Join us at C Street next month!
Surfrider x VLT River Restoration Cleanup at Willoughby Preserve - November 9
On November 9th, we teamed up with the Ventura Land Trust for a River Restoration Cleanup on the Willoughby Preserve. We had 14 lovely volunteers join us to pick up over 600 pounds of trash, including a full sofa!
The intention behind this cleanup was to engage our Surfrider community in promoting a healthy and clean watershed. We know that everything is interconnected, and what happens upstream affects everything downstream. If trash enters the watershed upstream, it’s bound to make its way down to our beaches and oceans. Read below for what Ventura Land Trust has to say about the topic.
“The Willoughby Preserve is a 9-acre property on the Ventura River that protects riparian habitat. This VLT property is located directly upstream from the estuary which is the place where the river meets the ocean. The brackish water created when fresh water mixes with the salty ocean water creates a unique ecosystem.
The watershed connects the ocean all the way up to the headwaters of the river and its tributaries. This means that removing invasive species, picking up dog waste, and removing trash throughout the watershed reduces impacts to all the special and diverse native habitats it contains.” —@venturalandtrust
We hope to have more collaborations in the future, but for now, you can join VLT every Wednesday at 8:30am on the preserve to clean up trash.
Private Beach Cleanup with Ascend Advisors - November 20
On November 20, we were joined by Ascend Advisors for a private sponsored beach cleanup at C-Street. The wonderful Ascend team picked up 41.5 pounds of trash (including 55 cigarette butts and 76 plastic fragments) from the beach and promenade—an awesome feat given our recent public cleanup the previous weekend. We appreciate the Ascend team for joining us out in Ventura, helping keep our beaches clean!
Private Beach Cleanup with Lure Fish House - November 21
On November 21, we were joined by Lure Fish House at C Street for a private sponsored beach cleanup. The Lure team picked up 21 pounds of trash from the area after a busy week of cleanups. Their haul included 184 cigarette butts, 83 plastic food wrappers, and 96 plastic fragments. We can’t thank them enough for making it out to clean up the beach.
Each of Lure’s locations here in Ventura County are recognized as an Ocean Friendly Restaurant. By following our OFR guidelines, Lure is helping ensure we put a stop to wasteful plastic in Ventura and beyond. If you’d like to learn more about our OFRs, click here.
If you own or know of a business or company that would be interested in hosting a private sponsored cleanup, please email aalejo@ventura.surfrider.org for more information.