Day 182 - Jan. 1, 2011

lifeguard tower 26 - Ocean Park, Santa Monica CA

trash collected for 20 minutes

2 pounds

708.6 pounds total

COMMUNITY COUNT - Day 102

Heather and Garen

.5 pounds

660.4 pounds total

My friend Heather came out for a cleanup on New Year's Day. She has a tremendous practice here in Santa Monica at Live Natural Live Well

Go to her website if you are thinking about making a renewed commitment to your health in 2011. And if you are local, make an apt.!

You can also stream her BLOG TALK RADIO SHOW from wherever you live.
One thing that I see a lot of on the beach are wrappers from multi-national corporate conglomerations like Nestle.

One thing that you won't find at the Mindful Nest is anything made by a multi-national corporation.

They are a Contemporary Artisan Gallery that has opened up down the street from this beach. Being a Massachusetts College of Art Alumni myself, I had to meld my two passions together in this post and mention them here. The LA Times called them "crafts with a conscience". They are a great new edition to our community for 2011, and a breath of creative fresh air.

You can find them online at MINDFUL NEST , or wander in when walking past on

2711 Main Street - just south of Ocean Park.

Here's what the LA Times said about their store in Burbank:

"store devoted to affordable, handmade contemporary crafts, was designed by co-operators Diane Jackson, Amanda Vernon and Jennifer Hardaway to be a mindful way to shop. “We support local artists and small American companies,” Vernon says. “We buy directly from artists who speak to us, and we make sure part of the proceeds goes back to the community.”

Art Installation or garbage? We debated for a minute before adding these to our load. It was strange to ponder who left them here, and why...

While I am talking about art, let me mention the CHACO WAVES FOR CHANGE CONTEST

Enter to win a trip on board a 5 Gyres Expedition!

The contest asks you to submit a digital image of artwork that addresses our world's addiction to single-use plastic. There are weekly winners that will receive a Klean Kanteen water bottle, a Chaco gift card and a 2 year subscription to Wend Magazine.

The grand prize winner will receive:

"round trip airfare to Tahiti (departing from the Cook Islands) where he/she will join one of the final 5 Gyres discovery voyages: 10 days sailing from Tahiti to the Cook Islands. All meals and accommodations will be included."

HAPPY NEW YEAR: 10 min. into our beach cleanup I was officially halfway done with my 365 non-consecutive day beach cleanup that I call The Daily Ocean. Felt like a great way to start the year with this milestone.

Watch this short video by "A Skwirl's Eye View - Bottle VS Tap"

Give him 90 seconds and he'll sum up in 4 easy to digest points that will make you want to join him on March 11th, 2011 for BOTTLED WATER FREE DAY.CA