By Janet Koed
March 22 is World Water Day with the theme of “The Value of Water“
Santa Barbara Channelkeeper’s Watershed Brigade is organizing a March Challenge. We all agree that ensuring our coastline is litter-free is an important part of valuing our water resources. Channelkeeper is focusing on Santa Barbara city’s East Beach, an area that accumulates a lot of trash. I asked Channelkeeper folks if Gaviota Coast Conservancy could participate in this effort by organizing a team to pick up litter at Haskell’s Beach and Refugio State Beach. I was given an enthusiastic thumbs-up and promised to receive details about how to document our treasure of trash. We believe in the power of combined efforts.
The World Water Day Challenge takes place on March 20 and 21. We are not yet Covid-clear so participants will be encouraged to work solo or in small groups with masks. Please contact Janet Koed at janetkoed@gaviotacoastconservancy.org if you want to join our GCC team. Details will be provided. There might even be a prize or two for our most successful trash collectors.
Warren Powers is a Gaviota Coast Conservancy volunteer who recently kayaked on the Gaviota Coast. The bonus of Warren’s kayaking trip was spending about a half hour of that paddle alongside a sea otter feeding in the kelp beds! This was his third otter sighting in the last couple of months, so it seems like they have localized. After the paddle, he stopped at roadside turnouts and picked up trash that could eventually end up in the ocean. This photo documents his booty.
