Posts tagged Beaches
Monthly Events: Kick-start Fall with a Little Community Building!
Sep 2nd
What better way to welcome the change in seasons than with a volunteer or community event this month? If you didn’t have a chance to lend a hand for the environment this past summer, it’s not too late to jump right in to help green L.A. this fall. And if you did volunteer, we’re sure you are all rested up and ready to go again! Here’s a taste of what’s in store for September!
>On Saturday, September 4th, come on out to Santa Monica where Surfrider will be hosting a beach clean up. Some fun in the sun is always great, just be sure to bring that sunscreen!
>Saturday, September 11th is packed full of green goodness. Two tree care projects spearheaded by TreePeople will be taking place in Altadena and El Monte. There will also be a fabulously fun Environmentalist rendezvous including a picnic and film in Pasadena.
>It’s not exactly a volunteer event, but that’s okay, it’s still great for the community. On Sunday, September 12th LA Streets Blog will be closing down streets in L.A. for a cool street fair. Bring bikes, skateboards or just your walking shoes. No cars allowed!
>Do you like the famous Santa Monica Pier? How about pets? Well, there More >
5 Things You Probably Didn’t Know About Venice Beach
Jun 23rd
We all know that Venice Beach is funky, a sort of renaissance amusement park along the beach in West Los Angeles. The boardwalk is known for its eclectic street vendors, artists, musicians, muscles and some of the best surf in LA County. But we did you know the following about one of our favorite summer spots?
* Venice (formerly Venice America) was founded as a beach resort by tobacco millionaire Abbot Kinney in 1905.
* Venice Beach has been the location of over sixty movie sets, dating back all the way to 1915.
* Over 450 oil wells used to operate in Venice, with the first oil derricks constructed in the 1920s. Oil was pumped in Venice until the 1970s.
* Venice Beach is the second most popular tourist destination in Southern California, only trailing Disneyland. An estimated 150,000 tourists walk the boardwalk every weekend. That’s almost 8 million annual weekend tourists alone!
* According to Heal the Bay, Venice Beach has an A+ water quality grade at all four locations where samples are taken.
The beach is closed from 10:30pm to 5:00am. When the boardwalk is open, bring along the entire family as there is sure to be something entertaining for everyone: rent bikes, surf, play More >
5,000 Los Angeles Kids Cleanup Dockweiler State Beach, Form Human Mosaic Calling to “Sustain Life”
May 27th
PLAYA DEL REY, CA—Confirming their commitment to protecting marine life, 5,000 area students and their teachers participated at the Adopt-A-Beach Cleanup and formed an aerial artwork in celebration of Kids Ocean Day. The event was hosted by the Malibu Foundation for Environmental Education, the California Coastal Commission, the City of Los Angeles, Keep Los Angeles Beautiful, and Whole Foods Market. The day’s activities began with a program kick-off involving dignitaries, including: Michael Klubock of the Malibu Foundation for Environmental Education; Sara Wan of the California Coastal Commission; Cynthia M. Ruiz of the City of Los Angeles Board of Public Works and Keep Los Angeles Beautiful; City of Los Angeles Bureau of Sanitation Director Enrique Zaldivar; Whole Foods Market marketing supervisor Lena Pereira; and actress and environmentalist Wendie Malick (Just Shoot Me!, Fraiser, Baywatch). Students picked up trash at the beach, and capped the day by forming a human mosaic that depicted the ocean and spelled “Sustain Life.” The message highlighted the connection between the health of oceans and human life, and also reflected the United Nations’ Millenium Development Goal to ensure environmental sustainability.
“The vitality of Los Angeles and the rest of our planet depends on the health of the ocean More >
LA’s Efforts to Transform Water Quality at Three Heal the Bay F-Grade Beaches
May 26th
Today the local environmental group Heal the Bay issued its annual beach report card in time for the start of the summer beach season, providing beach goers with important water quality information. Without fail, over the last few years, Santa Ynez Beach, Castle Rock Beach and Inner Cabrillo Beach have received poor grades when it comes to their water quality.
That is about to change.
Working with regional partners including the County of Los Angeles, the Cities of El Segundo and Santa Monica and environmental groups such as Heal the Bay, the City of Los Angeles has built various structural best management practices at each of these locations to significantly improve their water quality.
There are currently 23 low-flow diversions, or structures that divert dry-weather polluted urban runoff from storm drains to the sanitary sewer system, dotting the Santa Monica Bay coastline. Using funds from Proposition O, the water quality bond measure passed in 2004, Los Angeles is in the process of upgrading eight of these diversions to handle dry weather flow year round. The upgrade of these low-flow diversions has the added benefit of ensuring the City’s compliance with federal water quality mandates related to dry weather flow. Other locations along Santa Monica More >
California Beach Pollution Still on the Rise
Aug 3rd
Information taken from LA Times article: California beaches face a rising tide of pollution, study finds by: Amy Littlefield
The National Resource Defense Council (NRDC) reports a 4% increase in beach pollution violations from 2007-2008.
According to the NRDC report, which collects data through the Enviromental Protection Agency, 10% of water samples at California beaches last year contained more human fecal bacteria than the state allows, creating health and sanitary issues for all beachgoers.
Bacteria can flow into beach water from sewage accidents such as the spill that forced closures in Long Beach on Monday, but also through stormwater flowing through urban areas. The “urban runoff” pick ups animal waste, fertilizer, motor oil and other contaminants that are dumped into the ocean through our untreated waterways.
Although researchers linked 9% of contamination to sewage and 3% to storm water, the vast majority (81%) came from unknown sources
These high bacteria levels lead to sickness and beach closures at some of the most popular tourist destinations in Southern California.
For more information on beach water quality, be sure to check out Heal the Bay’s Beach Report Card.
Public Weighs In on Heavy Metals and Bacteria Pollution
Apr 30th
On March 3, 2009 the City of Los Angeles Stormwater Program held the second of three stakeholder workshops to discuss the Ballona Creek Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) Implementation Plans or—in laymen’s terms—plans that will identify stormwater projects for improving the water quality of Ballona Creek and the Estuary. The City of Los Angeles Watershed Protection Division (WPD) has embraced a multi-benefit approach for managing urban runoff, with a strong focus on using natural solutions and developing a green infrastructure.
The TMDL Implementation Plans will address pollutants such as bacteria, metals, toxic pollutants and other water quality impairments. Meeting these requirements will greatly reduce water pollution in the area, making it cleaner and more hospitable to acquatic life and local residents. Cleaning up the Ballona Creek watershed will also help with improving water quality at our beaches.“The beach at Playa del Rey near Ballona Creek is often very polluted, even during dry weather,” says Mark Gold, Executive Director of Heal the Bay.“The Ballona Creek fecal bacteria TMDL is critical to ensure that a day at the beach won’t make you sick.” More than 70 stakeholders from environmental organizations, community groups and local neighborhoods attended the second workshop. City staff, consultants More >
Student Buses Still Needed for 2009 Kids Ocean Day
Apr 17th
2009 Kids Ocean Day: Malibu Foundation Calls for Student Buses
Malibu Foundations’s 2009 Kids Ocean Day Beach Cleanup Event lost bus funding from the Santa Monica Conservancy, when their order of 72 buses was canceled last Thursday. The buses play an integral part to the event, as approximately 5,000 elementary students from LA City and County schools travel to Dockweiler Beach to participate. The LA Stormwater Program also coordinates this event alongside the Malibu Foundation and called the City to action to keep this event alive.
Last week, Malibu Foundation Director Michael Klubock called upon City Council offices, LAUSD, First Student and Atlantic Express bus companies for donations and reduced fares.
On Thursday the Keep Los Angeles Beautiful (KLAB) committee agreed to donate $7,000 to fund 20 buses. That equals to about 1,200 kids! A great start to the team effort, but additional help is needed to continue the legacy of this great event
For more information on the Malibu Foundation for Environmental Education and the 2009 Kids Ocean Day, please visit http://www.malibufoundation.org/
