Outreach

Celebrating 25 Years!

January 8, 2026 by Santa Barbara Channelkeeper

Santa Barbara Channelkeeper’s Legacy of Environmental Protection, Advocacy, and Hope

This year marks a remarkable milestone for Santa Barbara Channelkeeper—25 years of protecting and restoring the Santa Barbara Channel and its watersheds. Since 2001, when the organization received its official nonprofit status, Channelkeeper has emerged as a driving force for clean water, healthy habitats, and a resilient coast. Throughout 2026, we are thrilled to celebrate the organization’s achievements and highlight the community support that has made our successes possible.

A Quarter Century of Impact

For 25 years, Channelkeeper has been on the front lines of environmental protection along our coast. Through a blend of science-based education, advocacy, fieldwork, enforcement, and community engagement, we have worked to ensure that the Channel remains a thriving home for marine life and a clean, safe resource for everyone who lives, works, and plays here.

Monitoring & Science

From water quality monitoring to cruise ship patrols, and surveys throughout our coastal marine protected areas, Channelkeeper’s boots-on-the-ground (and fins-in-the-water) approach has produced essential data that helps guide local policy and protect public health.

Advocacy & Legal Action

Channelkeeper has never hesitated to stand up for clean water and defend our coast, from holding polluters accountable and challenging oil drilling, to shaping forward-thinking environmental policies that benefit ecosystems and communities alike.

Education & Community Engagement

Through youth education programs, volunteer beach cleanups, community science efforts, and public workshops, Channelkeeper has connected residents and visitors with the natural beauty in our backyard, inspiring the next generation of environmental leaders and empowering tens of thousands of people to become stewards of the coast.

Collaboration

Channelkeeper’s success is rooted in partnership. Over the years, our team has closely workedwith local governments, researchers, fishermen, businesses, and fellow nonprofits to build a healthier future for the region.

The Heart of It All: The Santa Barbara Channel

The Santa Barbara Channel is one of the most biodiverse marine regions in the world. It is home to kelp forests, migrating whales, countless fish species, and vibrant coastal communities. Channelkeeper’s work is a reminder that protecting this extraordinary place requires vigilance, compassion, and sustained effort.

Over 25 years, we have seen how cleaner creeks, safer beaches, restored habitats, and engaged communities create ripple effects, benefiting wildlife, fisheries, tourism, and quality of life for generations to come.

Looking Ahead: The Next 25 Years

As climate challenges grow and our coast faces mounting pressures, Channelkeeper’s work is more urgent than ever. Our organization continues to evolve with innovative monitoring methods, forward-looking advocacy, and new opportunities to bring people into the movement for clean water.

The next chapter will be shaped by:

Expanded efforts to improve climate resilience and habitat health

Experiential education programs connecting students to the natural environment

Heightened legal and policy advocacy for clean watersheds

Increased community engagement and organizational partnerships

And, as always, unwavering dedication to the protection of our beautiful, incredibly biodiverse Channel.

A Thank You to Our Community

Channelkeeper’s 25-year legacy is a testament to everyone who has supported the organization, from volunteers and donors to students, scientists, policymakers, and everyday ocean lovers. This milestone is one we share with you.

Your passion, generosity, and belief in a healthier future have made the last quarter century possible, and will propel the next one.

Here’s to 25 years of stewardship, and to many more ahead!

Whether you’ve been with Channelkeeper since the beginning or are joining the celebration today, thank you for standing up for clean water and a thriving Santa Barbara Channel. Together, we’ll continue to protect the place we all call home.

Watershed Brigade Hosted Cleanups Inspire Awareness and Action

May 21, 2025 by Santa Barbara Channelkeeper

“How long do you think it would take this plastic water bottle to break down?” Veronica Moran, Channelkeeper ‘s all-star program assistant, asks a group of cleanup volunteers.

“Forty years!” a young woman exclaims. “One hundred!” another responds.

“Good guesses! Actually, it’s more like 400 years,” Moran explains, “and these items are never really gone, they just break down into smaller and smaller pieces of plastic. That’s why the work you’re doing to remove trash from the beach is so important!”

Channelkeeper’s Watershed Brigade organizes hosted cleanups for school groups, companies, churches, and organizations. During these events, participants clear a stretch of beach of trash, removing items like cigarette butts, plastic lids, food wrappers, and cans. Once they have cleaned up the area, they weigh the trash they have collected and play the game “How Long Until It’s Gone?” which involves guessing the lifespan of the items they have found.

At hosted cleanups, participants also learn about the land-sea connection and the importance of removing trash from areas throughout the watershed to prevent debris from flowing down stormdrains, creeks, and rivers and into the ocean.

To demonstrate this connection, Moran relates the story of the Ojai Rubbish trash can that Channelkeeper staff removed from Santa Cruz Island last year, after powerful winter storms sent debris down the Ventura River and into the Santa Barbara Channel. Debris like this trash can, she explains, ended up on remote beaches of the Channel Islands, underscoring the importance of trash cleanups on the mainland.

This year, the Watershed Brigade has led eleven hosted cleanups, including the Santa Barbara School of Squash, the Turner Foundation, Camp Towanka, and the National Association of Federal Equity Receivers.

The Watershed Brigade’s hosted events are a positive and productive way for groups to work collaboratively to benefit the environment while also learning about the wonders of the Santa Barbara Channel.

To join the Watershed Brigade, click here or follow us on Instagram (@Watershedbrigade).

Storm Response Cleanup

December 21, 2023 by Santa Barbara Channelkeeper

Help Keep Trash Out of the Santa Barbara Channel

Every time it rains, stormwater enters the City of Santa Barbara’s storm drain system and flows untreated to the ocean. On its way, this water picks up trash and debris that litters our streets and sidewalks. A lot of this trash ultimately ends up on our beaches. Wildlife can ingest and/or become entangled in plastic and other pieces of trash. Stormwater is a major source of pollution for our creeks, wetlands, and ocean.

Cleaning up the mess and keeping trash out of the ocean is a massive job that calls for the Watershed Brigade! This litter-fighting group of Channelkeeper volunteers acts as the last line of defense by heading out in groups or on their own to remove trash from city streets, trails, parks, and beaches before it can be swept into the ocean. Volunteers clean up trash higher in the watershed prior to forecasted rain events to prevent trash from entering storm drains and along the coast after storms.

Interested in conducting a Watershed Brigade storm response cleanup? Before you head out, take a look at our cleanup safety guidelines. Important storm-related guidelines include checking the local weather forecast and tide levels; wearing protective clothing, shoes, and gloves; and remembering to put your personal safety first. High tides, waves, outflows, and currents can be dangerous during and after storms. To minimize potential health risks, Santa Barbara County Environmental Health Services recommends that people do not swim, play, or surf in the ocean and creeks for at least three days (72 hours) following a significant rainfall event.

Channelkeeper has trash grabbers, bags, gloves, and buckets that volunteers are welcome to borrow and use. We’re grateful for your help to remove trash and debris from our coastline.

In an effort to stop the flow of pollution into our local waterways and prevent the need for future storm response cleanups, Channelkeeper also continuously advocates for upstream solutions. We have worked along with partner organizations to convince municipalities across our region to adopt ordinances that ban the distribution of plastic grocery bags, Styrofoam takeout containers, and plastic straws, stirrers, and cutlery. In addition, we work to educate the community about the impacts of single-use plastics on our oceans, wildlife, and human health. Channelkeeper also supports an initiative spearheaded by Abblitt’s Fine Cleaners to recycle film plastic.

To join the Watershed Brigade, visit our webpage, join our Facebook Group, or follow us on Instagram (@Watershedbrigade).

Take Your Plastic Advocacy to the Next Level

July 19, 2022 by Santa Barbara Channelkeeper

The news headlines about plastic are grim. A dead whale with 33 pounds of plastic in its stomach; a seal with a frisbee stuck around its neck; microplastics found in the meat and milk we consume. Each of us feels the weight of the plastic crisis and wants to take action. We’ve said no to plastic packaging and found plastic-free alternatives to common household items. But what can we do beyond recycling and limiting our own dependence on single-use plastics? How do we level up our individual actions? We’ve outlined a few ways to channel your positive energy into effective plastic-fighting advocacy campaigns that build upon your everyday efforts.

Have a conversation

A meaningful conversation can be an effective way to promote plastic reduction efforts in your area. Do you like a particular product or store, but you wish they would reduce or eliminate their use of plastic? Take a moment to ask the business to consider reducing their packaging or switching to a reusable alternative. Talk, call, or send an email. Businesses may be resistant at first, but if they hear the same request from multiple customers, they may consider making some changes.

Spread Awareness While You Scroll

Digital platforms can be an effective way to advance plastic-reduction messaging. You’re likely on social media anyway, so pour a cup of tea and commit half an hour to liking and sharing plastic-related posts, articles, and videos that will have a positive ripple effect. Today, brands are sensitive about how they are perceived online, an awareness you can leverage to help create change.

Make it personal. Write a sentence or two to personalize a post when you share or reshare.
Tag people and businesses that you think may be interested.
Use hashtags to broaden your reach.

Write a Letter to the Editor of Your Local Paper

Formulate a concise, fact-based letter that outlines your concerns about plastic and makes the issue personal and directly related to your community. Explain how readers in your area will be affected by the plastic crisis. Invite decision-makers to take action.

Engage in the Civic Process

Vote, Vote, Vote. Local elections have far-reaching effects. Support politicians who will prioritize the environment. Call or email your state representatives to voice your support for single-use plastic reduction policies or attend a city council or regional government meeting to make a public statement.

Introducing Chanelkeeper’s New Board President

February 23, 2022 by Santa Barbara Channelkeeper

In November, Channelkeeper’s Board of Directors elected Brad Newton as its new board president and his term began on January 1^st. Brad has served on the board since 2016 and is the founder of Newton Geo-Hydrology Consulting Services, LLC. He has a B.A. in geology, an M.A. in groundwater hydrology, and a Ph.D. in surface water hydrology, and he is a licensed professional geologist with 33 years of experience in environmental consulting. We recently caught up with Brad to learn more about his life-long interest in earth surface processes, his commitment to service, and his plans for supporting the exciting next phase of Channelkeeper’s work.

1. Tell us a little about yourself. Where did you grow up? What interests you?

I’m still growing up and hope it never stops. I was born in Wyoming into a family that has lived in Wyoming for many generations. My youth was spent on the sands of Huntington Beach, California, and I migrated north to Santa Barbara in the early 80s.

2. Was there a defining moment in your life that inspired you to work with water?

My excitement about the earth and earth surface processes was first ignited by a high school teacher named Carol Stadum. She taught geology and invited me to join her class. She took us to fossils digs all over Southern California. She was more than just passionate about geology; she was an outstanding teacher! I joined the Geology Club and became president for one year. I eventually earned my BA in geology at UCSB, but my excitement about hydrology began when I worked in the geothermal energy exploration industry.

3. What excites you about Channelkeeper? Why did you choose to become a board member?

My family elders were always involved in service organizations throughout my life. It has been natural for me to give back to my community. Channelkeeper sparked my interest when one past board president, Tim Robinson, and one current board member and co-founder, Ken Falstrom, began sharing about our mission and inviting me to donate. The Santa Barbara Channel is a globally unique ecosystem of biodiversity and human interaction. Channelkeeper monitors and collects data from the watersheds that provide fresh water and nutrients to the channel, and undertakes other critical activities offshore. As an earth surface processes scientist, the physical processes that impact the health of the channel are well within my expertise, particularly the interface of the terrestrial and oceanic environments.

4. How will your background in hydrogeology influence your role as board president?

As board president, my science background merges with all aspects of the organizational operations. Our staff is world-class, and our board fully supports their efforts and vision. Our board is comprised of individuals with a wide range of expertise, including finance, business operations, legal, science, marketing, and networking. I am so thankful that our Board is fully engaged in contributing their expertise to SBCK. No one person can run the show, and my role may largely be to encourage consensus while utilizing individual contributions.

5. What great things do you hope to accomplish as board president?

Channelkeeper is currently at a pivotal transition. With a new Executive Director, Ted Morton, our staff, and many years of healthy operations, Channelkeeper is poised to look to the distant future and imagine a place regarded globally as a model example of preservation and restoration. The journey there is the focus of our new, to-be-developed, Strategic Plan. As board president, my role is to support the journey for this exciting new phase of Channelkeeper activity.

6. Do you have a favorite aquatic pastime?

I regularly run our local trails, board surf and body surf when there is a swell, fishing, and scuba diving are always fun, as well as sailing and boating. If there is an adventure to be had, I’ll often jump on and enjoy the ride!!

7. If you were a marine organism what would you be and why?

Phytoplankton! Definitely Phytoplankton! Primary production is fundamental to life on this planet, and Phytoplankton is a major contributor to the primary production that supports all life. Besides, “phyto” is a cool nickname.