WORLD OCEAN'S DAY - JUNE 8, 2010

WORLD OCEANS DAY - JUNE 8TH, 2010

DAY 33 - SANTA MONICA, CA

11.2 POUNDS COLLECTED BY 11 PEOPLE IN 20 MIN.

COMMUNITY COLLECTION COUNT TOTAL 229.6

In honor of World Oceans Day, Ocean Hero winners from Green Chimneys Deborah and Robin, Julianna Stein from Oceana, Jon Frank from Oceana, Garen Baghdasarian, Dean Miya, Mark Armen from Gulpable, and myself met at the Santa Monica Pier to do a Daily Ocean style beach cleanup.

We collected from the pier to Shutters Hotel, which is about a 20 min. walk down the beach.

We all decided that today was the day of the cigarette. Our group picked up dozens.

Of course, we couldn't have a cleanup without a candy wrapper. Three most common types of trash that are found on the beach:

1. cigarette butts

2. candy wrappers

3. fast food wrappers

I would amend this list to put anything made from plastic right at the top.....

Shutters hotel that looks out on the beach, but sits right on top of the Pico-Kenter storm drain, which in the rainy season is a sludgy, polluted nightmare running straight into the pacific but today was neatly buried in sand...
Above is Deborah Bernstein of Green Chimneys who won the Junior Ocean Hero Award for their Shark Fanatics program. Deborah and Green Chimney teacher Robin were so much fun to meet and the award was well deserved. Read more about their program here.

Dean, Deborah and Robin at the Oceana World Oceans Day party sponsored by QG and Nautica at the Sunset Tower Hotel in Hollywood. Robin was beaming, as she should have been. Congratulations!!!!

The CEO of Oceana awarding the Ocean Hero Award to Robin

Unfortunately I didn't get a great picture of the representative from the IBRRC (International Bird Research and Rescue Center) that came up from Long Beach to accept on behalf of Jay Halcomb who is in the Gulf right now rescuing birds from the oil spill. It was a somber day of celebration as we all reflected on the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill disaster now decimating the Gulf of Mexico.

Thank you IBRRC and Jay for all of your hard work. And a well deserved Ocean Hero Award. For more about what they do, read more here.

Please wtch Julliana Stein's message about World Oceans Day below

then go to: STOP THE DRILL to sign Oceana's petition