| Save Our Shores News & Events | |
Here's to Another Successful Year of
Marine Advocacy & Conservation!
We owe our past successes to the ongoing support received from our Members, community, and dedicated volunteers. Below are some of the key accomplishments you've helped Save Our Shores achieve:
- Since January 2009, SOS ran 424 beach cleanups that removed over 26,000 lbs. of trash & nearly 9,000 lbs. of recyclables.
- We also lead 83 inland cleanups where over 32,000 lbs. of trash and over 8,000 lbs. of recyclables were removed. (See below: the next San Lorenzo River cleanup is on Jan. 29th).
- SOS cleanups took place in different 11 watersheds within Santa Cruz County.
- SOS coordinated over 6,000 volunteers during Annual Coastal Cleanup Day 2010 in Santa Cruz and Monterey Counties who removed 20,000 lbs. of debris from cleanup sites in just 3 hours!
- SOS was an active member of the Santa Cruz County Plastic Bag Taskforce that helped create the Single-Use Bag Reduction Ordinance now approved by both the County & City of Santa Cruz. SOS then created the Central Coast Sanctuary Alliance, now made up of 24 environmental organizations around the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary working to pass local bans on single-use plastic bags.
- SOS conducted 240 classroom presentations to teach youth about the sources and impacts of pollution & marine debris in Half Moon Bay, Santa Cruz County & Monterey County.
- SOS installed 12 signs on the Santa Cruz wharf to educate people about plastic pollution & proper fishing line disposal.
- SOS installed 18 educational cigarette butt receptacles, also known as BaitTanks, in high impact areas in Santa Cruz & Capitola. Stay tuned for more on BaitTanks in 2011!
SOS Sends a BIG Thank You to our Year-End Donors
We are incredibly grateful for those of you who responded to our year-end plea to support Save Our Shores in 2011 by making a tax-deductable donation before the end of 2011.
A big thank you goes out to:
Kathryn Aberle, Martel Anderson & David Oebker, Monica Cornish, Terry & Mark Corwin, Rena Dubin, Michele Estrin-Gelblum & Peter Gelblum, Harold & Janet Freiman, Sundeep Gupta, Christopher D. Hillman, Janell Hillman, Reinhard & Diane Hohensee, Trudi James, Mary Doyle Kenkel, Steve Kennedy, W. McElhinney, Elizabeth Proctor, Lisa Uttal & Jeffrey Meek, Elke A. Wehner, and Melanie Winters.There's still time to start 2011 off right by helping Save Our Shores. Donate today to support a healthy ocean community!
Make 2011 Your Year for the Oceans:
Apply now to be a SOS Sanctuary Steward
Want to to take your commitment to the ocean to the next level? Apply for the 2011 class of Sanctuary Stewards to become a volunteer leader of Save Our Shores' beach cleanups, outreach efforts, and education programs. Our Stewards receive a dynamic spring training session that provide them with the knowledge and skills they need for an exciting year of leadership on behalf of our ocean and marine environment.
Apply online now! For more information, contact Andrew Hoeksema, Coordinator of Volunteer Programs at Save Our Shores.
Plastic Bag Bans Sweep the Nation 
In mid-December, San Jose, CA became the largest city to ban single-use plastic bags in the nation. Passage of their ordinance, which includes most retailers, not just grocery stores and pharmacies, makes San Jose a new leader in the battle against plastic pollution in our oceans. In mid-November, Los Angeles County passed their own ban on single-use plastic bags that includes grocery stores, pharmacies, and 'other shops' within unincorporated LA County.
Meanwhile, the City of Capitola and the City of Watsonville are both working on adopting ordinances similar to Santa Cruz's Single-Use Bag Reduction Ordinance. That's why it's important that we let our local representatives and County Board of Supervisors know that we SUPPORT the Single-Use Bag Reduction Ordinance at their Public Information Meeting on Jan. 26, being held from 6-7:30pm at the Live Oak Community Center, Simpkins Swim Center, 979 17th Ave.
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Save Our Shores Volunteers Needed!
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- January 8th 10am-Noon: Monterey Monthly Beach Cleanup at Monterey State Beach (north).
- January 15th, 10am-Noon: Santa Cruz Monthly Beach Cleanup at Rio Del Mar State Beach.
- January 22nd, 10am-Noon: San Mateo Monthly Beach Cleanup at Arroya Canada Creek.
- January 29th, 10am-Noon: Community Cleanup on the San Lorenzo River with the City of Santa Cruz. From Hwy 1 towards Water St.
- Become a Save Our Shores Sanctuary Steward and Take Action for the health of our marine environment all year long!
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Take Action!
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Up Next: Northern California MPAs need your support - TAKE ACTION & sign the petition below!
36 New Marine Protected Areas were just approved for the South Coast, and the North Coast MPAs are up next! MPAs help create a legacy of ocean conservation that will sustain a healthy ocean and successful fishing industry for decades to come. A well-informed network of Marine Protected Areas is the key to a vital ocean ecosystem, and they need your support today! Learn more about MPAs here...
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Mahalo Mondays for SOS at Hula's Island Grill all Month Long! |
 Great News: Hula's Island Grill @ 221 Cathcart Street in Santa Cruz is benefitting Save Our Shores on each & every Monday of January during their Mahalo Mondays fundraisers!
Come out to support Santa Cruz's favorite non-profit this month while dining at one of Santa Cruz's favorite restaurants. The sweet potato fries are delicious, btw.
Mahalo Mondays at Hula's - here we come!
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Beers for a Cause!
Join Save Our Shores at SC Mountain Brewing on Thurs, Jan, 27th |
 Do you heart Clean Beaches and tasty, organic beer?
Well there's a beer-drinking benefit with your name on it! Join us on Thurs, Jan. 27th at Santa Cruz Mountain Brewing, where a portion of the proceeds from noon until close will be donated to Save Our Shores. Located at 402 Ingalls Street on the Westside of Santa Cruz, Santa Cruz Mountain Brewing is a certified organic brewery that loves to support the Santa Cruz community.
We'll see you there!
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Success Story: Southern California MPAs Adopted
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To all of those who signed our petition - Support Marine Protected Areas in Southern California - THANK YOU for TAKING ACTION to protect our marine environment for generations to come. With 822 signatures, our petition circulated the globe with the help of the Care2 Action Network, and in the end, helped adopt the newest addition to the MPAfamily of underwater state parks: the Southern California MPAs.
The Channel Islands marine reserve network (a Marine Protected Area) reports rockfish numbers up by 50%, and their sizes up by 80%, from a study conducted at 5 year review mark.
This is a true success story for ocean protections!
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Birdies for Charity
Pledge Drive for
Save Our Shores
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Birdies for Charity is a fun way for charities and non-profits like Save Our Shores to cash-in on the birdies made during the AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am tournament.
Similar to a walk-a-thon, and based on the total number of birdies made by PGA TOUR professionals during the AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am, Birdies for Charity will give Save Our Shores' ocean conservation programs a financial boost with a twist!
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Become a Member of Save Our Shores
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Do you or someone you know want to help Save Our Shores keep oil drilling out of Monterey Bay, inform boaters on how to prevent small oil spills in local waters, educate the youth about plastic pollution AND help keep our beaches & rivers clean?
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Thank You
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| Save Our Shores
thanks our many volunteers, sponsors, partners, and contributors for
helping Save Our Shores continue our work of caring for the marine
environment through Ocean Awareness, Advocacy, and Citizen Action!
The ocean and its inhabitants thank you, too.
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SOS: Winner of Best Non-Profit of 2010!
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