• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content

Santa Barbara Channelkeeper

Keeping Watch for Clean Water

  • About
    • Our Mission & Vision
    • Our Team
    • Our Boat
    • Our History
    • Our Impact
    • About the Santa Barbara Channel
    • Financial Information
    • Contact Us
  • Our Work
    • Education
      • Student Art Show
    • Community Engagement
      • Oil Spill Resource Guide
      • Trash Clean-Ups
      • Film Plastic Recyling
      • Water Conservation
      • Events
      • Volunteer
      • Action Alerts
      • Report Pollution
    • Field Work
      • Beach Water Quality
      • Stream Team
        • Water Quality Indicators
        • Stream Team Data Portal
        • Leydecker Archives
      • MPA Watch
      • Cruise Ship Monitoring
      • Ocean Acidification
      • Trash Clean-Ups
    • Advocacy
      • Polluted Runoff
      • Agriculture
      • Oil & Gas
        • Refugio Oil Spill
        • Oil Spill Resource Guide
        • Platform Decommissioning
        • Legacy Oil Wells
        • Offshore Fracking
      • Ventura River
      • Plastic
        • Film Plastic Recyling
      • Marine Protected Areas
        • MPA Watch
      • Water Supply
        • Desalination
        • Conservation
    • Enforcement
      • Ventura River
      • Offshore Fracking
      • Agriculture
      • Sewage
      • Ojai Quarry
      • Halaco
  • Take Action
    • Donate
    • Volunteer
      • Watershed Brigade
        • Watershed Brigade Event
        • Watershed Brigade Monthly Challenge
        • Watershed Brigade Corporate Challenge
      • Stream Team
      • MPA Watch
      • Trash Clean-Ups
      • Events & Outreach
    • Report Pollution
    • Subscribe to eNews
    • Action Alerts
    • Shop
      • Buy Channelkeeper Gear
      • Shop & Support Channelkeeper
    • Upcoming Events
  • Media
    • Press Releases
    • Blog
    • Newsletter Archive
    • eNews Archive
    • Video Gallery
  • Donate
Ben keeping watch on the ocean with his camera from the boat.

MPA Watch

Since the regulations implementing the network of marine protected areas (MPAs) along the Southern California coast entered into effect in January 2012, Channelkeeper has focused on educating the public about the multiple social, economic and ecological benefits MPAs provide and to monitoring their impact.
This effort includes our MPA Watch program, which trains and engages volunteers to help us record and track human activities in and adjacent to MPAs in the
Santa Barbara Channel.

MPA Watch is a network of programs that support healthy oceans through community science by collecting human use data in and around our protected areas.

MPA Watch trains volunteers to observe and collect data on human uses of coastal and marine resources both inside and outside of marine protected areas (MPAs). Volunteers use standardized protocols to collect relevant, scientifically rigorous, and broadly accessible data.

Santa Barbara Channelkeeper is a certified MPA Watch partner in Santa Barbara County, California.

Visit the MPA Watch website.

The data collected by MPA Watch is useful in providing context for and facilitating interpretation of other data being collected to monitor changes in fish populations, while also identifying the social and economic benefits that result from MPAs (e.g., from increased recreation and tourism). The program also aids compliance and enforcement efforts to ensure that MPA regulations are followed.

Volunteering for MPA Watch is a great way to learn more, get involved and spread the word about your local MPAs. Anyone can become an MPA Watch volunteer – it’s easy and fun. It involves walking designated sections of our coast and recording any human activities observed onshore and offshore through standardized surveys at Campus Point MPA, Naples MPA and Kashtayit (Gaviota State Beach) MPA. Monitoring surveys take less than 1.5 hours, and volunteers can choose the days and times most convenient for their schedules. Volunteers are simply asked to conduct at least three surveys a month and to follow our designated monitoring protocols. Channelkeeper provides volunteer training, data sheets and all necessary equipment.

The next volunteer training workshop will take place virtually on Thursday, October 22nd from 5:30-6:30 pm.  Please RSVP here to sign up. The link to the workshop will be provided closer to the date to all who signed up.

Volunteer Today!

If you interested in learning more about our volunteer opportunities,
please call us at (805) 563-3377 or email us or use the contact form below.

    Volunteer Interests (Check all that apply)

    Trash Clean-UpsStream TeamMPA WatchEventsOffice Help

    Contact Us

    714 Bond Avenue
    Santa Barbara, CA 93103
    [email protected]
    (805) 563-3377

    Subscribe to eNews

    © 2023 Santa Barbara Channelkeeper | Website by Mission Web Marketing
    NAVIGATION
    • About
      • Our Mission & Vision
      • Our Team
      • Our Boat
      • Our History
      • Our Impact
      • About the Santa Barbara Channel
      • Financial Information
      • Contact Us
    • Our Work
      • Education
        • Student Art Show
      • Community Engagement
        • Oil Spill Resource Guide
        • Trash Clean-Ups
        • Film Plastic Recyling
        • Water Conservation
        • Events
        • Volunteer
        • Action Alerts
        • Report Pollution
      • Field Work
        • Beach Water Quality
        • Stream Team
          • Water Quality Indicators
          • Stream Team Data Portal
          • Leydecker Archives
        • MPA Watch
        • Cruise Ship Monitoring
        • Ocean Acidification
        • Trash Clean-Ups
      • Advocacy
        • Polluted Runoff
        • Agriculture
        • Oil & Gas
          • Refugio Oil Spill
          • Oil Spill Resource Guide
          • Platform Decommissioning
          • Legacy Oil Wells
          • Offshore Fracking
        • Ventura River
        • Plastic
          • Film Plastic Recyling
        • Marine Protected Areas
          • MPA Watch
        • Water Supply
          • Desalination
          • Conservation
      • Enforcement
        • Ventura River
        • Offshore Fracking
        • Agriculture
        • Sewage
        • Ojai Quarry
        • Halaco
    • Take Action
      • Donate
      • Volunteer
        • Watershed Brigade
          • Watershed Brigade Event
          • Watershed Brigade Monthly Challenge
          • Watershed Brigade Corporate Challenge
        • Stream Team
        • MPA Watch
        • Trash Clean-Ups
        • Events & Outreach
      • Report Pollution
      • Subscribe to eNews
      • Action Alerts
      • Shop
        • Buy Channelkeeper Gear
        • Shop & Support Channelkeeper
      • Upcoming Events
    • Media
      • Press Releases
      • Blog
      • Newsletter Archive
      • eNews Archive
      • Video Gallery
    • Donate